Jockey International

Jockey was originally named Coopers, Inc., and was founded by Samuel T. Cooper in St. Joseph, Michigan in 1876 as a hosiery business. Cooper began the business after hearing that lumberjacks suffered from poorly constructed wool socks. In 1900, Cooper began making undergarments. By 1902 the business was expanding. However, by 1934 Coopers Inc. was nearly bankrupt due to the Great Depression. The company recruited Harry H. Wolf Sr., to restructure the company.

On January 19, 1935, during a blizzard, Coopers, Inc. sold the world's first briefs at the Marshall Field's State Street store in downtown Chicago. Designed by so-called 'apparel engineer' Arthur Kneibler, briefs dispensed with leg sections and had a Y-shaped overlapping fly. The company dubbed it the Jockey, claiming it offered support like a jockstrap. Over 30,000 pairs were sold within three months of their introduction. Coopers used a Mascul-liner plane to deliver masculine support briefs to retailers across the US. When they were introduced to the UK in 1938, they sold 3,000 a week.

In 1958, the company introduced the first mass-sale men's bikini brief, known as 'Skants'. The low-cut nylon and elastic brief, inspired by women's bikinis, had no front fly and was unlined apart from a small support panel at the lower front. Coopers renamed itself Jockey Menswear, Inc. in 1971, and Jockey International, Inc. the following year. In 1997 Jockey acquired the seamless panties division of Formfit-Rogers, and sold them under the name Form-Fit (this branding was later discontinued). In 1982, Jockey introduced the Jockey For Her line of intimate apparel and underwear. In 2011, Jockey launched a line of underwear using Outlast Technologies, which was originally developed to help NASA astronauts stay comfortable in changing temperatures and reduce sweating.

In August 2020, country singer Luke Bryan became a paid corporate spokesperson for the Jockey brand. In October 2020, Jockey International's India and its affiliate Page Industries were investigated by the US-based Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP) over allegations of human rights violations in one of its factories. In December of the same year, Page Industries Ltd., the licensee of Jockey International in India, was recertified by Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP) and found to be socially compliant. WRAP said human rights violations allegations were not substantiated by the findings of the audit.