It all started with a fire.In 1995, Malden Mills—the company behind Polartec® —burned to the ground. Most companies wouldn’t survive. But instead of folding, Polartec® doubled down on innovation, rebuilding and launching some of the most groundbreaking performance fabrics in history. From inventing synthetic fleece to challenging the way we see waterproof breathability, they’ve been at the forefront of outdoor gear ever since. Here’s why Polartec matters—and why we’re proud to work with them at Foehn.
Polartec traces its roots to Malden Mills, a Massachusetts textile mill founded in 1906. The company’s real breakthrough came in 1981, when it created the first synthetic fleece fabric. By “napping” a polyester fiber pile (combing it to raise fuzzy fibres), Malden Mills engineered a material that was lighter, warmer for its weight, more breathable, and faster-drying than traditional wool. This new PolarFleece was a game changer in outdoor apparel. The fleece’s warmth-to-weight ratio and resilience were unprecedented, and although early versions tended to pill, it quickly proved its value to cold-weather adventurers.
The Patagonia Synchilla® Snap-T® pullover debuted in 1985, using Malden Mills’ new synthetic fleece. It quickly became an icon of outdoor wear, “changing how people dressed to go outside, forever”
Throughout the 1980s, Malden Mills’ fleece was adopted by leading outdoor brands. In 1985, Patagonia introduced the Synchilla® Snap-T® pullover (shown above), demonstrating fleece’s instant appeal in the outdoor community. By 1988, The North Face’s Denali Jacket had brought fleece from the mountains to college campuses, cementing its crossover status . In 1991, Malden Mills launched the Polartec® brand to market its growing range of performance fabrics. Polartec quickly became synonymous with technical fleece and layered clothing systems. By the end of the decade, the significance of this innovation was widely recognized – Time magazine even named the Polartec fleece one of the 20th century’s most important inventions.
Building on the success of fleece, Polartec continued to innovate throughout the 1990s and beyond, developing new fabric technologies that expanded the performance apparel. Some of Polartec’s most influential innovations include:
Power Dry® (1994)
Introduced in the mid-90s, its first next-to-skin fabric designed to “wick moisture from the skin to the outside”. This invention “launched a revolution in the art of layering”, making high-output activities far more comfortable. Developed initially for U.S. Special Forces.
Power Shield® (1998)
Building the game-changing “soft shell” category of apparel, Polartec’s soft shell fabric was “weather-resistant enough for most conditions” yet remarkably breathable, stretchy, and quiet. Knit construction allowed the fabric itself to block wind and rain while venting excess heat and moisture.
Power Grid™ (1998)
A patented grid-knit fleece that further improved breathability and lightened weight. Power Grid’s channel-backed design “allowed it to do more (wick, warm, breathe, compress) with less material”. This minimalist approach created a new standard for mid-layer efficiency – the classic grid fleece that remains a staple today.
Alpha® (2012)
In 2012 Polartec unveiled Alpha®, a novel “active insulation” that filled a gap between traditional puffy jackets and breathable layers. Originally developed for U.S. military special forces, Polartec Alpha was designed to “dump heat and moisture” during intense activity yet “keep [soldiers] warm when they stop”.
Delta™ (2015)
In 2015 Polartec debuted Delta™ cooling fabric to address hot-weather performance. Polartec Delta uses an ingenious knit of hydrophobic and hydrophilic yarns to manage sweat, holding just enough moisture against the skin to aid evaporative cooling without feeling clammy. Essentially functioning like a miniature “swamp cooler” for the body.
Power Dry® (1994)
Introduced in the mid-90s, its first next-to-skin fabric designed to “wick moisture from the skin to the outside”. This invention “launched a revolution in the art of layering”, making high-output activities far more comfortable. Developed initially for U.S. Special Forces.
Power Shield® (1998)
Building the game-changing “soft shell” category of apparel, Polartec’s soft shell fabric was “weather-resistant enough for most conditions” yet remarkably breathable, stretchy, and quiet. Knit construction allowed the fabric itself to block wind and rain while venting excess heat and moisture.
Power Grid™ (1998)
A patented grid-knit fleece that further improved breathability and lightened weight. Power Grid’s channel-backed design “allowed it to do more (wick, warm, breathe, compress) with less material”. This minimalist approach created a new standard for mid-layer efficiency – the classic grid fleece that remains a staple today.
Alpha® (2012)
In 2012 Polartec unveiled Alpha®, a novel “active insulation” that filled a gap between traditional puffy jackets and breathable layers. Originally developed for U.S. military special forces, Polartec Alpha was designed to “dump heat and moisture” during intense activity yet “keep [soldiers] warm when they stop”.
Delta™ (2015)
In 2015 Polartec debuted Delta™ cooling fabric to address hot-weather performance. Polartec Delta uses an ingenious knit of hydrophobic and hydrophilic yarns to manage sweat, holding just enough moisture against the skin to aid evaporative cooling without feeling clammy. Essentially functioning like a miniature “swamp cooler” for the body.
Polartec’s commitment to recycling only grew. By 2007, after a massive development initiative with Unifi (makers of Repreve® recycled yarn), Polartec was able to incorporate recycled polyester across its entire product line. In 2010, Polartec began working with Repreve to develop 100% recycled polyester fabrics, pushing themselves toward fully closed-loop materials. These efforts accumulated into enormous impact: as of 2021, Polartec had upcycled over 1.8–2 billion plastic bottles into technical fabrics.
Polartec has also addressed chemical impacts. The company has eliminated the use of long-lasting harmful per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in its durable water repellent treatments ahead of regulatory mandates. By 2022, Polartec announced that all its fabric technologies were “non-PFAS”, achieving environmental compliance even before it was required.
Over more than four decades, Polartec has continually reinvented what performance fabric can do – from the humble fleece that started it all, to today’s high-tech, sustainable textiles that protect people in any environment. We are proud to have Polartec as a partner of Foehn.
