Cabot Hosiery Mills is a textile manufacturer located in Northfield, Vermont, that makes socks under the "Darn Tough" label. The company was founded in 1978 by Marc Cabot, who had worked in the textile industry in New York State until he purchased and rebuilt a vacant mill in Northfield. His son Ric Cabot joined the company in 1989. Through the 1990s, Cabot Hosiery primarily manufactured socks for retail chains such as Gap, which relabeled the product for sale under store brand names. As retailers began looking to foreign manufacturers able to offer a lower price, Cabot Hosiery's sales declined from $7 million to $5 million annually, leading the company to lay off about 40 workers. By the early 2000s, the company owed several million dollars to its lenders, had defaulted on loans, and was