Fleece (fabric)

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Fleece hats

Fleece ( English for fleece , polyester fleece or synthetic felt ) is a synthetic knitted fur and is similar to the fleece , a loop cut Polyamidgewirk.

Fleece is the English name for a velor fabric , which is usually made of polyester z. B. is made from recycled PET bottles . In 1979 the fabric was introduced by Malden Mills Industries Inc. (USA). The company sold its products under the Polartec brand . In 2007, after insolvency, the company was taken over and continued under the name Polartec LLC .

Properties and use

Fleece is not a fabric , but a knitted fabric . Plush loops are formed during the binding process , which are then cut open and roughened. Since fleece is pronounced like the German word "Vlies", it is often confused with nonwovens in German-speaking countries . Fleece is mainly used for warming functional clothing in outdoor sports such as jackets, pants, hats, gloves, but also blankets. Today, fleece is usually made of polyester or cotton , and a distinction is made between different types of fleece. These include anti-pilling fleece (which hardly becomes matted), cotton fleece, softshell fleece, knitted fleece, double-face fleece (two-layer) or wellness fleece (extra soft).

There are different qualities that are denoted by numbers. They indicate the weight in grams per square meter. The larger the number, the thicker the fleece. Usual values ​​are 100, 200 and 300 g / m 2 . Fleece fabrics have the following properties that make them particularly suitable as an alternative to wool fabrics:

  • particularly high thermal insulation capacity with low weight
  • resistant and therefore durable
  • largely crease-free and elastic
  • water-repellent surface and very quick drying, but not waterproof
  • soft on the skin
  • recyclable, some recycled fibers are already on offer
  • not windproof, therefore additional membrane necessary

In contrast to wool

  • they show a strong electrostatic charge
  • they are very sensitive to heat such as fire and sparks.

criticism

Fleece is suspected to be one of the causes of the formation of microplastics that pollute the world's oceans . With every wash cycle, plastic fibers loosen from the laundry that can not be completely removed by sewage treatment plants . Such particles were found in the sediment of 18 beaches worldwide , not a single sample was free of them.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Clean Business , Die Zeit
  2. ^ Textile World - Malden Mills Reborn As Polartec® LLC . Website textileworld.com (English). Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  3. ↑ Children's clothing: Schnell in Flammen , Stiftung Warentest , January 30, 2009
  4. ↑ Mark Anthony Browne, Phillip Crump, Stewart J. Niven, Emma Teuten, Andrew Tonkin, Tamara Galloway, Richard Thompson: Accumulation of Microplastic on Shorelines Worldwide: Sources and Sinks , Environment Science and Technology, 2011, 45 (21), pp. 9175 -9179, doi : 10.1021 / es201811s .
  5. ^ Danger from microplastic waste , ORF , January 3, 2012