Polartec celebrates 30 years

Polartec has kicked off an anniversary year with the launch of its “Peaking Since 91” campaign that started on Feb. 1. If you’re thinking 40 years of fleece, you’re kind of right, but still just off the mark, as the fleece was invented in 1981 in a partnership between Patagonia and textile manufacturer Malden Mills. Malden first called the new product PolarFleece (Patagonia, by the way, called it Synchilla) and renamed it Polartec® in 1991. Thus, 2021 marks the 30th anniversary of Polartec. The U.S. ingredient brand has since continued to present many new textile products and technologies. That’s why Polartec has deliberately dedicated its Peaking Since 91 campaign not to the invention of the fleece but to the multitude of innovations that have come from it.

The anniversary also includes the Family Album Photo Contest, a consumer promotion to crowd-source a visual history of those who’ve worn Polartec-made garments on their outdoor adventures. The contest will be available through multiple media partnerships across the globe.

Polartec is now owned by Milliken & Company, a global diversified textile manufacturer that had purchased Polartec from Versa Capital Management in 2019. Versa, in turn, had acquired the company from Malden Mills in 2007.