Textile Technology Launches NC State Alumnus’ Career with Under Armour, Carhartt 

With over $1 billion in revenue and a quickly expanding customer base, Carhartt is one of the industry’s most talked about American-based clothing brands. Every time James Carr sees one of these Carhartt customers out in the world, he says he feels proud to have played a role in what they’re wearing. 

“That is one of the biggest things that fuels me every day: being able to work on something – even if it’s two years out — and then see it in the store or see someone wearing it in the airport,” he says. “That’s just the coolest connection for me.”

As a manager on the company’s technical raw material development team, Carr is in charge of making the vision of in-house designers and merchandising partners come to life. He describes his line of work as a sort of translator. 

“It’s very much getting into the construction, the yarn technologies, exactly what type of yarns you want to put in the fabric and why, and understanding the performance characteristics that are going to come with it,” the Wilson College of Textiles alumnus says.

He says he leans on his textile technology degree to get this work done. 

Pivoting to a hands-on, applied STEM degree 

Carr first arrived on NC State’s Centennial Campus as a mechanical engineering student. 

“I was one of those that did an extra lap-and-a-half in college,” he jokes.

When he reached his junior year, Carr began looking for a degree where he could more readily make real-world connections with what he was learning in class. Next, he tried textile engineering. While this was a step in the right direction, he found that the emphasis on coding and Lean Six Sigma still didn’t quite fit his personality. 

“I’m very much not a documented process, everything by the book kind of person,” he says. 

When he ended up taking a spinning and fiber science course as a part of his textile engineering curriculum, Carr says he finally found his perfect fit. 

“That’s the class where I got in. I started getting hands-on with the stuff. I mean, it may sound weird, but working with all the yarn, getting hands-on with the cotton fiber, I don’t know what it was, but it just grabbed something in me. That’s what made me fall in love with it.”

Driven to learn even more, Carr applied for a job with the college’s Spinning Lab toward the end of the semester. He believes the next two-and-a-half years in that role with the Zeis Textiles Extension (ZTE) provided him with industry knowledge that continues to set him apart in his career.

“That was by far I think one of the most important things that I’ve done to kickstart my career because it got me that hands-on experience. It built a foundation that I use still to this day in so many cases,” he says. “What I think has set me apart in my career is that yarn background I have, and I got a tremendous amount of that working in those labs.”

If his time with the Spinning Lab was the most impactful part of his time at the Wilson College, Senior Design ranks a close second. The year-long capstone course places textile technology and textile engineering students in groups and pairs them with industry partners to solve real-world problems. Carr’s group worked with UNIFI, a company that turns discarded plastic bottles into yarns for apparel. 

He says the class gave him experience working with professionals across the textile supply chain in many of the same ways he does today. It also taught him how to open up his “engineering mind” and brainstorm more out-of-the-box solutions. 

“It was good practice for how to think through all the solutions, understand limitations and understand your budget, because that’s definitely a real part of the world,” he says. 

Translating college experience to career success

His time in ZTE and Senior Design brought about valuable networking opportunities. Carr has continued to work with UNIFI throughout his post-graduate career. And he first met his future manager when he led visitors from Under Armour on a tour of the college’s labs.

“He could just see my knowledge of and passion for what I had learned,” Carr remembers. 

At the time, he says he wasn’t even thinking about a career in the apparel industry, but the job with Under Armour ended up being a dream come true. 

“I’ve always been obsessed with Under Armour since I was a little kid. I was definitely the kid that was decked out in lacrosse gear all the time,” he says. “I think that’s another thing that got me in the door there: I lived and breathed that brand just as hard as possible.” 

His favorite project from his time at Under Armour? Working on the textiles worn by prime-time athletes.

“I actually got to develop the material for the next generation of Under Armour’s college football jerseys. I did Jordan Spieth’s Masters polo. So being able to see those things on the screen was pretty unreal.”

Making real impacts at a booming U.S. apparel brand

The skills he developed working with a wide range of highly technical, performance-based materials, Carr says, are what placed him on the path to his current position at Carhartt as the brand looks to expand its offerings. 

“I think what I’ve been able to bring to the Carhartt role, especially as they begin to add performance products to their existing heritage lineup, is being able to take some of those technologies that are in the performance apparel space, maybe in the athletic/outdoor markets, and figure out a way to integrate them in a way that’s relevant for our brand,” he says. “I’ve been able to use my expertise to help them in their mission to make gear that’s lighter-weight, flexible, fit for more sizes and defends against the elements without sacrificing durability.”

Even as the brand continues to grow in popularity among the streetwear, music and skate markets, staying true to its original promise of durable workwear remains a top priority. Carr’s decisions ultimately play a role in making sure that the brand doesn’t alienate its primary customers or lose its defining characteristics in the process of expanding. 

“It’s my job to understand what technologies are exciting and becoming more popular in the market and determine whether we could use them in a way that still makes sense for Carhartt,” he explains. “If I get challenged by somebody pushing to incorporate something a little trendier or less expected of workwear, it’s my responsibility to reiterate that everything we do is always through the lens of workwear, to serve and protect all hardworking people, and we will never bring something to the table that cannot be used in work.”

“Being able to work on something – even if it’s two years out — and then see it in the store or see someone wearing it in the airport. That’s just the coolest connection for me.”

He offers two pieces of advice for students interested in charting a similar career path. First, learn as much as you can about the technical makeup of fibers and how that impacts what those fibers can do. 

“Having that core understanding is the biggest thing. It’s about trying to find ways to infuse new technology and sustainability into modern aesthetics.” 

And, more importantly, keep an open mind when it comes to the path your career will take. 

“I don’t think I understood, even as a student, what types of job opportunities there really were in the industry,” he remembers. “I had no idea how many companies needed this skillset.”