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 an American textile manufacturer, Malden Mills, which 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. 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. In connection with the anniversary, Polartec has launched 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 purchased Polartec from Versa Capital Management in 2019. Versa had acquired the business from Malden Mills in 2007.
Source: Polartec
The campaign also includes the We want your picture raffle: “Enter a photo from any era of you, your friends, and family showing us your outdoor peaks.”
