Polartec, a Milliken & Company brand and the creator of synthetic fleece, introduces Standard Issue, a unified pre-dyed option now available in black on the company’s best-selling Fleece fabric platform. The technology will be progressively rolled out across the entire Polartec portfolio and expanded in its color availability based on market demand.Developed to address an industry-wide problem,Standard Issueoffers brands a simplified approach to producing one of the most widely used colors in outdoor apparel.
Every year, topbrands independently order thousands of rolls of fleece fabric in nearly identical shades of black. Yet because each variation requires its own dye batch, minimum order quantity and production setup, custom dyeing adds unnecessary time and complexitywithoutnecessarilydeliveringmeaningful differentiation.
With Standard Issue, Polartec is helping streamlineproductionand reduceresource impact.And because the pre-dyed fabricscan be seamlessly integrated into product development, the initiative also helps simplify sourcing decisions and accelerate timelines without compromising the durability, performance, and reliability outdoor brands expect from Polartec fabrics. More importantly, the new standard is designed to complement, not replace,the multiple customization options Polartec already offers its partners.
“Sometimes the biggest opportunities for progress come from questioning the most familiar parts of our industry,” said Ramesh Kesh, Senior Vice President at Milliken & Company and Business Leader for Polartec.“Standard Issue invites the industry to consider a shared alternative to producing countless variations of a visually identical color like Black. It’s a solutionwhose practical benefits for our partners include simplifieddevelopmentin addition tosmarter and more efficient production practices across the global supply chain.”
“This initiative highlights Polartec’s long-standing tradition of solving real-world challenges through material innovation,” added Karen Beattie, Director of Product Management at Polartec. “Byproviding brands with a consistent, ready-to-use color option, we arehelping design teams move from concept to production more efficiently without sacrificing the technical performance their products rely on.”
Polartec Standard Issuewill be progressively rolled out across the entire Polartec portfolioand expanded in its color availability based on market demand, offering companiesa concrete path to streamlining their apparel production while ensuring full flexibility in design and product differentiation.
