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This is my English exercise of filling the correct preposition into the blank:

Both genders and all social classes, from many cultures can wear jeans. ___ thick materials, jeans became companions of the workmen.

For me, I think the suitable preposition is 'with', while my friend believes 'for' is more appropriate. He explained 'for' in this case means 'because of'.

Which one do native speakers frequently use in this case?

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    Your example sentences look suspicious to me. Where did you find them?
    – Damkerng T.
    Commented Jul 14, 2016 at 7:26
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    "With their" thick materials, jeans became companions of the workmen. Still sounds a little awkward to me, though.
    – Leo
    Commented Jul 14, 2016 at 7:34
  • If I had to choose only one word for the blank? No preposition looks very good to me. If I had to, I would choose "of", because the jeans are made of thick material. But note that it's also more idiomatic to say material rather than "materials", because jeans are really only made of one kind of thing.
    – stangdon
    Commented Jul 14, 2016 at 14:16

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I cannot see that

For thick materials

works here. For would imply something we do to the materials

We use special tools for thick materials

For thick materials select a large pair of scissors

I think for this exercise you are correct to use with; we are saying that

jeans are made with thick materials (hence durable and appropriate for wormen)

However I would actually want to state that we are considering the construction, so would say

Made from thick materials

I have to say the phrase:

jeans became the companions of the workmen

does sound very odd. Two problems:

1). Jeans as companions? Strange metaphor.

2). Of the workmen: the doesn't fit with the collective noun

Jeans became standard clothing for workmen

Jeans became standard clothing for the workman <== the singular

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