FOR A PRODUCT that “provides warmth without weight; is soft to the touch; will not shrink, ravel or run; is water-resistant; has moisture-wicking properties and is easy to work with,” according to the fleecelady.com Web site, it is the opinion of this writer that fleece deserves a place in the hallowed exhibition halls of the Smithsonian, or at least a tributary wax figure in New York’s famed Madame Tussauds museum.
Granted, it’s hard to think of anything having to do with warmth, much less hot wax, given the current temperatures outside. However, as sure as dawn turns into dusk, so do hot days turn into warm ones; warm days eclipse into cool ones and cool days into cold ones—making fleece and sweatshirts welcome garments. These items are some of the industry’s most important apparel
offerings that can quickly warm distributor-client relations, resulting in long-lasting sales opportunities and end-user satisfaction. “Fleece is a terrific promotional product because it is a durable material that is as familiar to the general public as denim,” noted Jules Braun, president of Eastland Textiles, Cleveland. “Fleece is versatile, easy to decorate and care for.”
Besides its staying power, Patric Anderrson, marketing manager at Gainesville, Virginia-based Atlantic Coast Cotton, praised fleece’s affordability, pointing out that the low price points make the item attractive to clients of every budget. “[Fleece and sweatshirts offer] good value for the money,” he said. “The prices have gone down over the last couple of years. The cost now is about $3 to $4, as opposed to $5 to $6.”
Like Anderrson, Braun confirmed the trend toward less expensive fleece products has inundated the market, but unlike Anderrson, he does not support it. “The trend in the market place is for low-cost, imported fleece,” said Braun. “However, our growth comes from the distributors and end-users [who] demand a better quality product.”
Although the suppliers differ on their ideas about pricing, both Anderrson and Braun agree the category is a must for distributors to consider.
THE IN THING
Anderrson pointed out that 8 oz. fabrics in 50/50 hoods are what’s hot these days. “Pants are more popular than ever, with open cuffs,” he explained. “Our heavy weight fleece and hoodies have also gone up tremendously.”
He said sales on the company’s hoods continue to grow. “Overall, volume has increased. I believe the price on the product has a big impact on the sale,” he explained. Or, Anderrson joked, “there are more slobs around who like the stuff.”
Anderrson may be right, if one would consider CEOs of corporations slobs. Although fleece and sweatshirts are popular among casually clad consumers, such as co-eds, sports aficionados and outdoors enthusiasts, in the world of promotional products, Braun said the items have wide-reaching corporate appeal. “We find that the use for fleece blankets and accessories apply across an enormous variation of corporate end-users,” he noted. “Everyone has uses for a great blanket in their lives, weather it’s for the home, car, or something to use for the family dog.”
Atlantic Coast Cotton, which has “plenty of [the] products available in a wide array of silhouettes, colors and sizes,” has found much success with its Gildan fleece and Jerzees fleece products. “Our bestselling styles are hoodies, and heavyweight fleece,” noted Anderrson.
While its primary offering is cuddly, cozy fleece blankets, Eastland Textiles also carries a wide selection of fleece accessories, including hats, headbands, scarves, gloves and mittens. But talking with Braun, it doesn’t take long to see where his company’s allegiance lies. “We manufacture many unique variations of fleece blankets, such as our basic 14 oz. fleece blanket, two-layer contrasting color fleece blankets, quilted berber and fleece blankets, and a huge variety of our popular pillow blankets,” he explained.
Speaking of color, Eastland Textiles offers both its fleece blankets and accessories in 20 colors. “This affords us the ability to design and produce a highly customized program for the corporate market place,” explained Braun. “We often use contrasting whipstitches to tie back into logo colors.”
Braun said his company is seeing strong growth with its fleece products, in large part due to end-users’ increasingly refined tastes. “We have experienced a trend … end-users [who] require a higher quality [and] unique product selection,” he said.
It is obvious the industry has taken a fashion-forward approach to promotional apparel these days. With fashion playing an increasingly important role in style, color and design, Anderrson noted: “Fashion fleece is an oxymoron. Because fashion is playing a bigger role in this industry, that has created more variety of styles and colors and more fashionable cuts on fleece,” he said. The most fashionable colors the company offers in sweatshirts include earth tones, such as eggplant, Texas orange and chocolate. Anderrson said cuts that have an urban, more fitted look are also popular.
Fleece and sweatshirts are some of the easiest items to decorate, according to Braun. While various printing techniques would do justice to the items, Braun said embroidery is best. “Our primary decoration technique is embroidery that we do in house,” he explained. “We also offer a unique, printed suede patch with the customers’ logo screen printed on it and then sewn on the blanket.”
Like Fido, the family dog, fleece and sweatshirts have taken up permanent residency—in the promotional products industry, that is. “We predict the fleece corporate market will continue to grow,” said Braun. “It is our belief that the end-user will continue to look for unique uses of a material that they have truly embraced.”
