NORTHWEST BRIEFING

OLDER AND BETTER: It won’t ever become a major export commodity, but Montana cowboys have found an eager market for a byproduct of their trade--worn-out jeans.

A Bozeman-area company, Montana Broke, buys the pants, the more decrepit the better, from amazed and delighted ranch hands, and ships them to retailers in San Francisco and New York. Urban cowboys can then have the recycled jeans for anywhere from $50 to $70 a pair, along with a certificate of authenticity. The company relies on a small cadre of scouts to track down promising supply sources such as ranches and rodeos.