How is polartec fleece made and why is it good for the environment?
Fleece, as you may know, is essentially plastic and a by-product of the petro-chemical industry, but it’s also possible to make fleece from, say, recycled plastic drinks containers, something first done by Yvon Chouinard’s Patagonia brand, with Malden Mills, over 12 years ago with their PCR Synchilla line. Polartec says that expanding ‘preserving the environment for future generations is not just the right thing to do, it is also a “mission critical” strategy for the company’s long-term success’ and we’re not going to argue with the basic principles behind that. This autumn will see two new recycled fleece garments hit the market in the form of Patagonia’s Capilene 4 long underwear program and Timberland’s new Mountain Sweater. The former is made of a new recycled Polartec® Power Dry® which will be made of at least 50% recycled polyester fibre and will be 100% recyclable through an Eco-Circle® program that can turn old polyester garments back into yarn. It is the first time recycled fi
