Fleece fabrics and garments: lightweight warmth for better performance

23 pages, published in Issue 25, 2nd Quarter 2008   Report price: Euro 395.00; US$ 520.00

Fleece fabric has redefined the way people dress for cold weather. It enables wearers to spend hours in below-freezing temperatures without becoming uncomfortable, and yet it is light in weight and has relatively low bulk. The market for fleece fabrics has benefited greatly from a growing interest in outdoor sports, as well as recreational activities in general. It has also benefited from the rising popularity of cold winter sports, particularly alpine climbing and recreational skiing. By 2007 the market was worth an estimated US$4 bn worldwide.

The supply of fleece fabrics is dominated by Polartec, formerly Malden Mills, whose Polartec and Polarfleece brands have become household names. The fabric was introduced as polyester fleece under the brand name Polarfleece in 1981. Subsequently, fleece developed a somewhat dowdy image but this was changed dramatically with the launch of Polartec fabrics in 1991. Polartec fabrics satisfied customer demands because they dried quickly, they were warm, lightweight, and breathable, and they came in fashionable styles and colours. Polartec fabrics have been successful because they are warm, lightweight, and breathable, they dry quickly, and they come in fashionable styles and colours. Sales have been helped by the growing popularity of outdoor pursuits among baby boomers and their desire for garments which are warm, comfortable and easy to care for.

The key attributes of synthetic fleece—good thermal insulation, softness, low weight and the ability to wick moisture away from the body—were embraced by outdoor enthusiasts and mainstream consumers alike. Fleece garments, or fleecewear, swept through the performance apparel market in the mid-1980s. Fleece overtook wool as the fabric of choice for a number of outdoor apparel applications and established itself firmly as an alternative to heavy pullovers and bulky overcoats. Today, its uses in outdoor apparel range from high-tech outerwear to hiking boots. Fleece garments have also crossed over from performance apparel into fashion and corporate wear. Fleece has even found its way into deep-sea diving, in the form of linings for diving suits.

For the future, fleece fabrics will find their way into many new applications. Growth will be driven by novel end uses for existing products, as well as by the introduction of innovative products.

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• Profile of Berghaus: a performance apparel producer expanding into fashionable conventional clothing, (1st Quarter 2008)

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