Fleece Clothing Manufacturer

Two families of fleece, two different products

Fleece covers two distinct fabric families. Cotton fleece, also called sweatshirt fleece, is a three-thread or two-thread knit with loops on the back that are either left as loopback (French terry) or brushed into a soft pile. It is the fabric of hoodies, crewnecks and joggers, typically 240-450 GSM in cotton or cotton-polyester blends.

Polar fleece is a knitted polyester fabric brushed on both sides, usually 180-320 GSM, known from outdoor midlayers, zip-ups and blankets. It insulates well for its weight, dries fast and costs less than cotton fleece per garment. Deciding which family your product belongs to is the first sourcing decision, and it changes mill, price and hand feel completely.

Why Turkey, and why Bursa, for fleece

Bursa is Turkey's knitting and synthetics heartland, and sweatshirt fleece is one of its staple outputs. Circular knitters there produce loopback and brushed fleece across the weight range as running qualities, which means small brands can buy proven fabrics from stock positions instead of funding custom knitting runs.

The sewing side is equally developed: hoodies and sweatpants are core products for Turkish cut-and-sew factories, so construction details like flatlock seams, lined hoods, ribbed side panels and kangaroo pockets are routine rather than special requests. Combined with 3-7 day road freight to the EU, Turkey is arguably the most efficient nearshore origin for fleece programmes.

Choosing GSM and composition for sweats

For hoodies, 280-320 GSM is the commercial standard, 320-400 GSM reads as premium streetwear, and 400-450 GSM gives the heavy, structured drop-shoulder look. Crewnecks follow the same logic; joggers usually sit 20-40 GSM lighter than the matching top so the set drapes well.

Composition is a cost and performance lever. 100 percent cotton fleece feels premium and takes garment dye well; an 80/20 or 70/30 cotton-polyester blend reduces cost, shrinkage and wrinkling, and is the mainstream choice for retail programmes. Loopback French terry in 240-320 GSM covers lighter, unbrushed sweats and premium summer-weight hoodies.

• Standard hoodie: 280-320 GSM brushed fleece
• Premium streetwear hoodie: 320-400 GSM
• Heavyweight oversized: 400-450 GSM
• French terry sweats: 240-320 GSM loopback
• Polar fleece midlayer: 240-280 GSM polyester

Dyeing, finishing and decoration for fleece

Piece-dyed fleece gives tight shade control for core colour programmes, while garment dyeing delivers the faded, boxy vintage sweatshirt look that dominates streetwear, with shrinkage and measurements managed through adjusted patterns. Enzyme and silicone washes soften the face; peaching adds a fine surface nap.

Fleece decorates well: puff, high-density and standard screen prints, embroidery and appliqué all perform on the stable brushed surface. For polar fleece, anti-pilling finishing is the single most important spec, as unfinished polar fleece pills quickly; we specify anti-pill qualities by default for garments.

Quality checkpoints before you approve bulk

On cotton fleece, check shrinkage on bulk fabric, ideally 5 percent or better after compacting, and confirm the brushing is even, since patchy brushing shows as shade bands on solid colours. Verify rib trim recovery on cuffs and hems, because tired ribs make a heavy hoodie look cheap fast.

On polar fleece, insist on pilling test results and check zipper and binding quality, as these dominate the perceived value of a midlayer. Across both families, OEKO-TEX certified fleece qualities are available from specific mills in our network, and recycled polyester fleece options exist for blended and polar constructions where the story fits your brand.