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Throughout
his endeavor, Thompson stood by one guiding principle.
Whatever he was to accomplish in Thailand must benefit
the people of Thailand. He chose to involve the local
Thais and insisted that most, if not all, of the profits
generated by the business -- the result of their own skills
-- had to be returned to the people.
In Thompson's view, the real measure of the success of
the Thai silk industry was not in the profits generated
by the Thai Silk Company he established but by the number
of rival companies
In 1962, in recognition
of his contribution to Thailand, the Royal Thai government
awarded Thompson The Order of the White Elephant.
By the time of his
disappearance in 1967, there were over one hundred companies
competing for a share of the Thai silk business. Today,
the Thai silk industry provides employment for approximately
20,000 weaving families.
Today, the Thai Silk industry provides
employment for over 20,000 weaving families in the farming
communities of Thailand.
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