By Alabama Public Radio
Washington, DC – Congressman Robert Aderholt wants Alabama's textile industry to be better protected in the international market. He has written a letter to the Interagency Committee on Implementation of Textile Agreements. Aderholt asked the committee to help shield the American Sock industry from imports from China. And, he wasn't alone. Twenty-two other Congressmen signed the letter. Aderholt says Chinese sock imports totaled nearly 70 million pairs in 2002. Last year, that number increased 264 million pairs. Fort Payne in northeast Alabama is known as the "Sock Capital of the World." It's home to more than 50 sock mills employing more than six-thousand workers.