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                                                                   Exhibit 10.21











                                 DAN RIVER INC.
                     SUPPLEMENTAL EXECUTIVE RETIREMENT PLAN
                         EFFECTIVE AS OF JANUARY 1, 2001
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                                TABLE OF CONTENTS


                                                                            Page




ss. 1 EFFECTIVE DATE.........................................................1


ss. 2 PURPOSE................................................................1


ss. 3 DEFINITIONS............................................................1

         3.1.     Affiliate..................................................1
         3.2.     Board......................................................1
         3.3.     Committee..................................................1
         3.4.     Company....................................................1
         3.5.     Compensation...............................................1
         3.6.     Eligible Participant.......................................1
         3.7.     Participant................................................2
         3.8.     Retirement Plan............................................2
         3.9.     SERP.......................................................2

ss. 4 SERP BENEFITS..........................................................2

         4.1.     Annual Post 2000 Accrual...................................2
         4.2.     Annual Pre-2001 Account....................................2
         4.3.     Payment....................................................3
         4.4.     Claims Procedure...........................................3

ss. 5 ADMINISTRATION.........................................................3

         5.1.     Powers.....................................................3
         5.2.     Expenses and Reliance......................................3
         5.3.     Statements.................................................3
         5.4.     Address....................................................4

ss. 6 AMENDMENT AND TERMINATION..............................................4


ss. 7 MISCELLANEOUS..........................................................4


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                                 DAN RIVER INC.
                     SUPPLEMENTAL EXECUTIVE RETIREMENT PLAN
                         EFFECTIVE AS OF JANUARY 1, 2001



                                     ss. 1

                                 EFFECTIVE DATE

         The Company has adopted this SERP effective as of January 1, 2001.

                                     ss. 2

                                     PURPOSE

          The  purpose of this SERP is to  supplement  a  Participant's  accrued
benefit under the  Retirement  Plan to compensate  for the fact that the tax law
limits the  benefits  payable  under the  Retirement  Plan and the fact that the
Retirement  Plan fails to take into account a  Participant's  Bonus in computing
his or her accrued benefit under the Plan.

                                     ss. 3

                                   DEFINITIONS

         .1.  Affiliate  for  purposes of this SERP shall mean any  organization
              ---------
designated as such by the Committee.

         .2.  Board for  purposes of this SERP shall mean the Board of Directors
              -----
of the Company.

         .3.  Committee  for  purposes of this SERP shall mean the  Compensation
              ---------
Committee of the Board or its delegate.

         .4. Company for purposes of this SERP shall mean Dan River Inc. and any
             -------
successor to Dan River Inc.

         .5.  Compensation  for purposes of this SERP shall mean a Participant's
              ------------
total base salary,  commissions  and bonus which is payable by the Company or an
Affiliate  after 2000 in each calendar year before any  deductions or reductions
of any kind or description  whatsoever and shall mean a Participant's total base
salary,  commissions  and bonus which was payable by the Company or an Affiliate
to such  Participant in each calendar year before 2001 and before any deductions
or reductions of any kind or description whatsoever.

         .6. Eligible  Participant for purposes of this SERP shall mean for each
             ---------------------
calendar year after 2000 each employee of Dan River Inc. or an Affiliate (i) who
is a "Highly  Compensated  Employee"  for such calendar year under the Dan River
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Inc.  401(k) Plan, as amended,  (ii) who accrues a benefit under the  Retirement
Plan for such calendar year and (iii) who is designated as such by the Committee
for such calendar year.

         .7.  Participant for purposes of this SERP shall mean an individual who
              -----------
has accrued a benefit under this SERP which remains unpaid.


         .8.  Retirement Plan for purposes of this SERP shall mean the Dan River
              ---------------
Inc. Salary Retirement Plan, as amended from time to time.


         .9.  SERP  shall  mean  this  Dan  River  Inc.  Supplemental  Executive
              ----
Retirement Plan, as amended from time to time.

                                     ss. 4

                                  SERP BENEFITS

         .1.  Annual  Post 2000  Accrual.  Each  individual  who is an  Eligible
              --------------------------
Participant  for a calendar  year after 2000 shall  accrue a benefit  under this
SERP for such  calendar  year which shall equal the excess,  if any, of "A" over
"B", where

                  "A" equals  the  benefit,  if any,  which he or she would have
                  accrued  under  the  terms  of the  Retirement  Plan  for such
                  calendar year if 100% of his or her Compensation,  if any, for
                  such calendar year was taken into account under the Retirement
                  Plan, and

                  "B" equals the benefit he or she  actually  accrued  under the
                  Retirement Plan for such calendar year.

         .2.  Annual  Pre-2001  Account.  Each  individual  who  is an  Eligible
              -------------------------
Participant on January 1, 2001 shall have an initial  accrued benefit under this
SERP on such date for each  calendar year before 2001 and after 1987 in which he
or she accrued a benefit under the Retirement Plan which shall equal the excess,
if any, of "A" over "B", where

                  "A" equals  the  benefit,  if any,  which he or she would have
                  accrued  under  the  terms  of the  Retirement  Plan  for each
                  calendar  year  if 100% of his or her  Compensation  for  such
                  calendar year had been taken into account under the Retirement
                  Plan, and

                  "B" equals the benefit he or she  actually  had accrued  under
                  the Retirement Plan for such calendar year.

         .3. Payment.  A Participant's  benefit which is accrued under this SERP
             -------
shall be  payable  only if a  benefit  is  payable  to,  or on  behalf  of,  the
Participant  under the  Retirement  Plan and,  if a benefit is payable to, or on
behalf of a Participant  under the Retirement  Plan, his or her benefit which is
accrued under this SERP shall be paid to the  Participant  by the Company at the


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direction of the  Committee  under the same rules and as of the same date and in
the same benefit  payment form as the  Participant's  accrued benefit is paid to
the Participant under the Retirement Plan and, in the event of the Participant's
death,  shall be paid by the Company at the direction of the Committee under the
same rules and as of the same date and in the same  benefit  payment form and to
the same person, if any, as the Participant's  accrued benefit is paid under the
Retirement Plan after his or her death.

         .4. Claims Procedure. If a Participant makes a claim for the payment of
             ----------------
his or her accrued benefit under this SERP and the Committee  denies such claim,
the Committee shall effect such denial in accordance  with the claims  procedure
regulations set forth in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as
amended,  for claims under a deferred  compensation  plan and shall  provide the
Participant  the  opportunity to appeal any such denial in accordance  with such
regulations.

                                     ss. 5

                                 ADMINISTRATION

         .1. Powers.  This SERP shall be administered by the Committee,  and the
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Committee  shall have the  absolute and  complete  authority,  duty and power to
interpret  and  construe  the  provisions  of this SERP as the  Committee  deems
appropriate, including the final authority to determine eligibility for benefits
under this SERP,  and to take any other action in connection  with the operation
or  administration  of this Plan which the Committee  deems fair and appropriate
under the  circumstances.  The Committee  shall maintain SERP records,  make the
requisite   calculations   and   authorize    distributions.    Interpretations,
determinations,  regulations  and  calculations  made by the Committee  shall be
final and binding on all affected persons.

         .2. Expenses and Reliance.  Any expenses incurred in the administration
             ---------------------
of this SERP shall be paid by the Company.  The  Committee  shall be entitled to
rely  on all  tables,  valuations,  certificates,  opinions,  data  and  reports
furnished  by any  actuary,  accountant,  controller,  counsel  or other  person
employed or retained by the Committee with respect to this SERP.

         .3.   Statements.   The  Committee  shall  furnish   individual  annual
               ----------
statements of accrued  benefits under this SERP to each Participant in such form
as determined by the Committee.

         .4. Address. The Committee shall have the right to rely under this SERP
             -------
on the  address and other  information  provided  by the  Participant  under the
Retirement Plan.



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                                     ss. 6

                            AMENDMENT AND TERMINATION

         The Company  reserves the right to amend or terminate  this SERP at any
time by action of the Committee. The Committee upon the termination of this SERP
shall  have  the  right in its sole  discretion  to  accelerate  the  timing  of
distributions and make all distributions in the form of a lump sum. No amendment
or termination shall directly or indirectly reduce a Participant's  then accrued
benefit  under  this  SERP  as of  the  effective  date  of  such  amendment  or
termination.

                                     ss. 7

                                  MISCELLANEOUS

         .1.  General  Assets.   All  distributions  to,  or  on  behalf  of,  a
              ---------------
Participant under this SERP shall be made from the Company's general assets, and
any claim by,  or on  behalf  of, a  Participant  against  the  Company  for any
distribution under this SERP shall be treated the same as a claim of any general
and unsecured creditor of the Company.

         .2. No Liability.  No  Participant  shall have the right to look to, or
             ------------
have any claim whatsoever against, any officers,  director, employee or agent of
the Company or any member of the Committee in his or her individual capacity for
the distribution of his or her accrued benefit under this SERP.

         .3. No Assignment;  Binding Effect. No Participant shall have the right
             ------------------------------
to alienate,  assign,  commute or otherwise  encumber his or her accrued benefit
under this SERP for any purpose whatsoever, whether through a domestic relations
order or otherwise,  and any attempt to do so shall be disregarded as completely
null and void. The provisions of this SERP shall be binding on each Participant,
on any other person who claims a benefit under this SERP and on the Company.

         .4.  Construction.  This SERP shall be construed in accordance with the
              ------------
laws of the  Commonwealth  of  Virginia  except  to the  extent  such  laws  are
preempted by federal  law.  Headings  and  subheadings  have been added only for
convenience of reference and shall have no substantive  effect  whatsoever.  All
references to sections  shall be to sections to this SERP. All references to the
singular shall include the plural and all references to the plural shall include
the singular. All definitions in this SERP shall apply exclusively to this SERP.



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         .5.  No  Contract  of  Employment.   A  Highly  Compensated  Employee's
              ----------------------------
participation in this SERP shall not constitute a contract of employment for any
particular term or for any particular rate of compensation, and participation in
this SERP shall have no bearing  whatsoever on such term or  compensation  or on
any other conditions of employment.



                                 DAN RIVER INC.



                                 BY:
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                                 TITLE:
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