Forbes Feature: “Startup brrr° Keeps Clothes Cool With Textile Tech”

Startup brrr° is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

Cool is a science. And this is about textile technology, not fashion.

Although clothes made from brrr° yarn may look good, the cool factor is in the company’s Triple Chill Effect, according to a company rep.

The newest news from the Atlanta, Georgia, startup is test data from an independent lab that shows brrr°’s technology can keep people cooler and more comfortable in everyday activities. As The Fonz would say, “Aaaay!”

For readers who don’t get the reference, suffice it to say that brrr° uses a patented technology that combines natural minerals, active wicking, and rapid drying, according to the company, that instantly and continuously draws heat and moisture away from your body.

Ahhh.

The tests, conducted by an independent, internationally recognized testing facility, showed that brrr°’s nylon and polyester fabrics consistently outperformed a number of comparable products in lab tests that measure something called Qmax (cool to the touch), wicking and dry time.

This must be some magical coating that wears away in time though, right?

Brrr° says its technology is embedded in the structure of the yarn of the fabric, so it won’t diminish over time with repeated washings.

What’s the green factor, other than climate change?

A company rep says: “We can use recycled polyester (mostly from beverage bottles) or recycled nylon (mostly from fishing nets, industrial waste, fabric scraps, etc.) and integrate our patented cooling fabric technology into those recycled materials that get turned into yarn.”

If you’ve never heard of brrr°, you may still be familiar with clothing that uses it, which is sold by retailers including Gillz, Southern Tide, CAT apparel, Bigfoot Sock Co., Mizzen+Main, Jos. A. Bank and Men’s Wearhouse. Brrr° is an “ingredient brand” that licenses its tech to retailers so they can integrate it into their manufacturing process, and cut and sew the clothes and other items themselves.

“Our mill partners have the factories/equipment to break down the recycled product into pellets, and then we blend and extrude those pellets with brrr° cooling minerals to create the yarn that gets made into fabric,” the rep adds. “Many retailers have been asking for recycled content in performance fabric in recent months, so this is a relatively new offering for us and we expect it will grow quickly as we bring it to market.”

The company has been around since 2014 and is led by Founder and CEO Mary-Cathryn Kolb, who previously held senior positions at Spanx, Seven Jeans, TOMS Shoes and Von Dutch.

southern tide brrr
Southern Tide shirts with the Triple Chill Effect.

Click here for the full article on Forbes