One of the biggest reasons people wear coats and jackets is to keep warm. Many materials are good at retaining the body’s natural heat, but lack the properties necessary to keep you from overheating. Fleece is a natural wonder in this regard – the natural water-repellent properties of a sheep or goat’s coat make it ideal for use in outerwear. For centuries, sailors and fishermen faced the harshest sea conditions in thick knit sweaters – sweaters made from wools with no more than the natural protection sheep and similar animals have always enjoyed.
The industrial revolution provided people with a variety of other methods for imparting the natural protection of wool into less bulky jackets and sweaters – enabling workers in harsh conditions to keep warm and dry without sacrificing the mobility that their active professions required. Fishermen in particular reaped the benefits of improved weaving and increased mobility in their coats, jackets and sweaters.
A century later, modern technology and innovations in manufacturing led to the development of what’s known as modern fleece. Polyester fleece is made by a handful of different manufacturers who then supply the fabric to jacket makers around the world. The leading brand in the fleece fabric market is Polarfleece. Polarfleece, like most modern fleece fabrics, is an entirely synthetic insulating fabric made from PET – that’s right, it is made from recycled plastic. Malden Mills developed the first Polarfleece products in 1979. Malden Mills is a family-run American company that still works to push the boundaries of quality and performance that the unique Polarflece polyester material can provide.
The fleeces produced by Malden Mills have evolved into an ultra durable, warm, breathable fabric known as Polartec. The innovative Polartec fabric is used to make everything from jackets to blankets. Polartec material is quick drying, light weight and exceptionally breathable – making it an ideal fabric for use in jackets, particularly multi-layer coats and jackets. Often layered outerwear includes at least one layer of fleece for added insulation – the fleece layer is typically attached to the outer shell of the jacket with zips and/or Velcro strips, when removed, the fleece can usually be worn as a jacket on its own in drier or less harsh conditions.
Polarfleece and Polartec fabric is used to make coats, jackets, hats, scarves, gloves and a vast array of outerwear for men, women and children. Though fleece as a generic material is used in jackets by nearly every leading manufacture of sportswear on earth, the use of the Polartec name is strictly regulated by Malden Mills. Some of the manufacturers licensed to make coats and jackets with Polartec fleece include: Patagonia, The North Face, LL Bean, Colombia, Berghaus, Adidas, Nike, Puma and Timberland to name just a few.
Coats and jackets made from a wide array of fleece types are available in many styles from a variety of upscale shops as well as mass-market outlets in the high streets and shopping centres around the UK. Fleece coats and jackets for men, women and children are also available from a host of online retailers.
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