Why are all fleece products (or so it seems) 100% polyester? Can fleece products be made with any other material?
Fleece was traditionally wool. Sheep, son. Poly fleece is a decent cheap substitute. Emphasis on cheap.
It seems that way because the popular ones right now (called “polar fleece” off of a trademarked product, Polarfleece ) are indeed polyester. It’s lightweight, it doesn’t hold water well (which is a good thing for clothing and blankets), and it’s one of the few fibers that will still keep you cold when it’s wet (used to be that was only true of wool, but not anymore.)
Fleece in its traditional sense in fabrics (as opposed to “a fleece” off of a sheep) means a soft fuzzy fluffy material, and it can be made two ways. The first is “pile fabric” which is always synthetic, and consists of a bunch on threads sticking up on end attached to a backing. The fabric is fuzzy because your hand is brushing over a bunch of cut ends. The second type is “fleece”, which can be many materials, including cotton, that are twisted into yarns and woven into fabrics and then brushed to break some of the fibers, making the result fuzzy. These blankets are cotton fleece, for example.
There’s also acrylic fleexe, wool fleece (usually a blend of wool and poly, because wool gets really heavy and pulls out of shape when it’s wet.), and fleece made from recycled soda pop bottles!
More information on the evolution of polar fleece.
Soda pop bottles are made from Polyethylene terephthalate which is polyester.
Poly fleece may be cheaper, but it’s also more durable and easier to clean, hence its almost total substitution for wool in outdoor gear. Polarfleece[sup]TM[/sup] and generic versions thereof are more water resistant than fleece from natural fibers and unlike wool, is machine washable. The protection wool offers comes from the natural oils that are saturated in the fibers; eventually these will dry out, a process that will be exacerbated by violent agitation or harsh detergents used in machine washing.
Stranger
I assume you meant warm and not cold.
uh…yeah…that was…A test! Congratulations, you pass reading comprehension 101!
One word- Smartwool.
Smartwool is wonderful, for some applications. But Polarfleece is still cheaper, just as tough, lighter, and compress more. I have Smartwool socks but fleece jackets, pants, and hats. I still use my double wool mittens however, I’ve never found a suitable replacement.
interesting fun fact!
malden mills of polar fleece fame, not only makes a lovely green fabric. this is the company that continued to pay it’s employees after a fire destroyed the mill. when the money for pay ran out, the ceo kept paying the health benefits of his people. the mill reopened and everyone rejoiced.
polar fleece from malden mills is the only man made fabric i buy.
Polyester in sheet form is also known as mylar…like we used to use for drafting engineering drawings on back when giants walked the earth.