Fleece

Fleece, properly polar fleece, is a soft, warm, fast-drying napped fabric knitted from polyester and brushed on both faces to raise a dense pile that traps air like wool but weighs less and dries far faster. It was developed in 1979 by Malden Mills in Massachusetts, which sold it under the Polartec name and chose not to patent it, letting the fabric spread freely through the outdoor-clothing world. Later versions are made from recycled plastic bottles, which made fleece an early icon of recycled cloth, though like all polyester it sheds microplastic fibers in the wash.