BEST OF BRITISH: HOOD JEANS

If there is one company that can genuinely claim its product is a family concern, it has to be Hood. Chris Easterford’s father Tom ran the Lee Cooper factory in Harold Wood in Essex, before moving on and forming a number of companies, including Falmer. Tom met his wife while working at Lee Cooper and had Chris… who met wife and business partner Julie when both were working at Tom’s final company, Motown Jeans.

Chris and Julie left Motown in 1994 to go their own way and start their own company, designing for major brands. When Tom closed Motown in 1996, Hood took over some of the existing contracts… including motocross jeans for one customer, made from Cordura. Hood used Aramid (the material used in bulletproof vests and other safety garments) to protect the Cordura against exhaust heat. They looked at getting into this market, but realising it was a densely packed and competitive marketplace decided to draw upon their experience in the denim jeans sector and create an Aramid-lined denim jean for the commercial market.

Twenty years later, Hood is one of the most iconic and best known names in the road rider jean market, no mean achievement when you consider they’ve never actively courted publicity, preferring to rely on word of mouth (and positive reviews) to spread the word.

My wife Laura and I have been trusting Hood to take care of our legs for the last 15 years. And that trust was graphically vindicated. Laura had an aftermarket exhaust on her then Virago – the sort that used the ‘dispersal’ type of heat shield, formed from wire. Unknown to Laura, the wire was touching on her jeans. The first she knew of it was when she saw smoke; she looked down… and saw her leg was on fire. The denim went up in flames, but the Aramid lining remained intact, literally saving her skin. We owe Hood a debt of thanks we can never fully repay.

As I said above, Hood has grown organically over the years, getting bigger in more affluent times, flat lining in sales terms during the various recession blips we’ve had. But in 2015 a number of factors saw an unprecedented 70% increase in sales. To keep up with demand, this translated into seven-day weeks. Despite this they struggled to keep up in their tiny Norfolk factory (still using kit from father Tom’s old works!). And the pressure has taken it’s toll. I know Chris doesn’t mind me saying it has had a heavy impact on his health. The time had come to look at changing how they worked.

Another big factor was the introduction of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) legislation: the EU directive has far-reaching consequences for makers of protective equipment for bikers, Hood being no different. It was a series of discussions with Paul Varnsverry, technical director of PVA-PPE group (who give technical advice, were important players in the introduction of CE-marked clothing and contributed to the PPE article in the June issue of MCM) which convinced Chris and Julie that how they put together their product had to change. As a result, they got in touch with a factory in China that was already geared up for motorcyclists’ PPE manufacturing, and would be able to handle their production demands.

Over the next 18 months, Chris and Julie made many visits to their new partners, learning about the technology available within the new production unit, creating the patterns used to make the products, establishing their requirements and overseeing the initial production runs.

During the design and development stage of the K7 Infinity, Chris was able to use the new machinery and materials now available to him to improve on the original version of the K7. These improvements included a new stronger yet softer K-Tech Para-aramid, the introduction of a full Airflow lining, stirrups to stop the jeans riding up and new contemporary denims.

Neither the new K-tech Para-aramid nor the Airflow lining could be sewn on the machines back in Norfolk. There were also many other changes to the construction of the new Jean.

These included an added sixth stitch and extension of the K-tech

Para-aramid to the outside leg seam for extra strength, double top stitches on the inside leg seam again for extra strength, a two stage waistband for improved fit and strength, hip pockets for easier fitment of armour.

All the above helped the K7 ‘Infinity’ Jean through the new PPE legislation although Chris also tested them on the original Cambridge test machine. This meant he could compare the Infinity K7 against the original K7. The findings showed the K7 ‘Infinity’ beat the original version in every test. However Chris says the heart of the K7 Jean stays the same; it looks 100% like a Hood Jean and includes all the much loved features of the original like the large front pockets made entirely from denim.

So now the initial production is in China. So does this mean Hood is no longer a UK company? Definitely not! Base production may be in China, but it is made to Hood’s specification (no-one else gets to use their grades, materials or designs). Hood oversees the process with regular visits, with final assembly touches like personally tailored leg lengths, adding the stirrups and so forth undertaken in the UK. The design, development and sales also remain in the UK, with a small capacity production line remaining.

In the time I’ve known Chris and Julie and worn their products, Hood Jeans have never stopped evolving. Their first jeans were made from heavy denim with a bright yellow, quite stiff Aramid. As the years went by, new denim weaves were introduced making them lighter and more comfortable, they sourced new Aramid weaves that were softer and more comfortable (and less yellow!) without compromising on safety. D30 armour was introduced (really amazing stuff, soft and pliable until an impact, when the molecular structure changes and it turns into hard protective plating).

The latest iteration of the K7 sees perhaps their biggest evolution yet: The first UK jean to obtain the new prEN17092-3 certification (they have the second highest AA rating; the product has all the criteria to get the highest AAA rating, but Hood doesn’t take the Aramid to the very bottom of the leg, as this makes them harder to get on over boots and would mean the end of the personalised leg length service). As we said earlier they feature a cooler, more comfortable K-Tech para-Aramid, and a climate control ‘Airflow’ mesh making them work in a wider range of weather conditions. Oh, and the D30 armour now comes as standard.

Despite the cost of gaining PPE accreditation and the technological advances outlined above, Hood has passed on the cost savings of moving base production to their new facility, holding prices static.

So what’s next for Hood? They’ve reached that happy stage as a company where they’re comfortable with the size they’ve reached. By taking that step away from the initial production (though fully involved in overseeing the process) it has given them time to run the company, spending more time on customers. The product range has, for the time being, pulled back to the K7 (which previously accounted for 85% of sales anyway), but as the fallout from PPE settles, they can look at expanding the range as and when it seems right.