What is Fleece Fabric Made Of?

Fall consistently ranks as Americans’ favorite season. People generally love the beautiful foliage, football, holiday celebrations, and cozy outdoor temperatures. Fall is a great time to break out your winter wardrobe, and there’s a good chance you have at least one item of fleece clothing waiting to be put back into rotation. 

Fleece is one of the most popular fabrics for jackets, scarves, hats, and other outdoor apparel. It feels a lot like cotton and mimics many properties of wool. It’s breathable and wicks away moisture while keeping heat insulation inside the clothing. 

Because of these qualities, many people are surprised to hear that fleece is 100% synthetic. Despite being vegan, fleece is not exactly kind to the environment. We’ll dive a little deeper into this material and provide some pros and cons so you may better understand the implications of buying fleece.

The History of Fleece Fabric

In the 1970s, many inventors, innovators, and entrepreneurs were experimenting with polyester, Teflon, and other promising synthetic materials. In this context, promising means money-making potential. 

One notable person who experimented with polyester was Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia. Chouinard had a working relationship with Malden Mills, a company now known as Polartec. 

The collaborators realized that heating polyester and weaving it a certain way created a material remarkably similar to sheep’s wool. That product eventually became known as polar fleece. 

Because the inventors did not patent the material, many other companies soon began using it for their own products.

How is Fleece Made?

A few materials, some synthetic and some naturally occurring (but not necessarily renewable), get mixed together and heated to a certain temperature. The main synthetic material, by the way, is polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a type of polyester. 

Other materials include petroleum derivatives and plastic. Some manufacturers combine actual wool, cotton, hemp, bamboo, and other natural materials to give the end product a more desirable texture.

After the mixture gets heated into liquidy goop, it gets inserted into a sieve-like instrument that produces thin strands. These strands then get brushed for added texture. The last step is usually applying waterproofing materials to the fabric. 

Types of Fleece Fabric

Polar fleece, previously trademarked as PolarFleece, was the first type of fleece to grace shelves and racks at department stores. Innovation soon followed, and consumers now have plenty of fleece choices when shopping for winter clothes.

Polar Fleece

Products consisting of polar fleece are two-sided and incredibly effective at keeping wearers warm. While not waterproof, polar fleece is fairly water-resistant despite mimicking fine wool. Polar fleece is known for its durability. 

Microfleece

Microfleece is thinner and finer than polar fleece. It’s also incredibly soft. While it might not give you as much protection against bone-chilling winds or frigid temperatures relative to other fleece types, it still packs quite a punch despite being remarkably lightweight. 

We don’t recommend hiking to the North Pole in microfleece, but it can be perfect for cool October nights.

Cotton Fleece

Why imitate when you can get the real thing? That’s the line of thinking behind cotton fleece, which is sometimes only partially made of cotton. Consumers who want to minimize their carbon footprint may want to look into fleece products made from organic cotton.

Instead of polyester, cotton fibers are used in the initial mixture. Manufacturers spend a little extra time brushing cotton fleece to give it a soft texture. 

The result is a fleece that’s even more breathable than other types. As with other cotton products, though, each washing may cause it to shrink.

Sherpa Fleece

Sherpa fleece (sometimes referred to as boa fleece) is the closest imitation to natural wool you can get from synthetic fleece. The outside of sherpa fleece products feels quite different from the inside, which is much smoother. 

Sherpa fleece is one of your best bets if you live in an especially cold environment. It’s also not difficult to look quite fashionable in sherpa fleece clothing.

Is Fleece Fabric Sustainable?

Fleece is vegan and fairly durable, but the production process keeps fleece from being a truly sustainable product. Besides involving petroleum derivatives in the initial production phases, fleece has been shown to release microplastics during the washing process. 

Combine that with the synthetic materials needed to make fleece water- and wind-resistant, and you’ll find no shortage of forever chemicals—materials that are almost entirely non-biodegradable.

Many companies have begun using exclusively recycled plastic to make fleece products, which cuts down on their carbon footprint a tiny bit. Additionally, individual consumers can take steps to limit the proliferation of microplastics in the environment. 

We applaud anyone who wants to take a closer look at the clothes they’re buying in the name of sustainability. It’s near-impossible to buy 100% sustainable, non-toxic, and vegan products, but we would urge a healthy amount of caution before buying fleece clothing.