When she was an executive at SPANX, Mary-Cathryn Kolb kept thinking about the versatility of the tiny yarns that worked so hard to shape and support bodies.
She would often wonder about what other things those little fibers could do to keep people more comfortable.
Could they draw away heat? Could they wick away moisture? Could they dry faster?
What if our clothes could actually reduce the temperature of our skin and keep us cooler?
The idea for brrr° was born in 2014 and Kolb’s vision was deceptively simple: develop innovative cooling performance fabrics that could keep us cool and comfortable.
“We thought there had to be a way for our clothes to actively cool us down, and help us stay dry and more comfortable,” said Kolb, who has more than 20 years of experience in apparel and textiles.
The company developed and tested hundreds of formulas to refine the cooling power of brrr°.
The secret brrr° formula combines natural cooling minerals, active wicking and rapid drying to create a “Triple Chill Effect” that instantly and continuously draws heat and moisture away from the skin. Every brrr° fabric is independently tested by globally recognized labs and proven to keep you cooler.
Over the past decade, brrr° has become an award-winning leader in performance cooling textile technology and it holds several patents to protect its intellectual property.
Major brands including BRADY by Tom Brady, Adidas, Reebok, Greyson, Linksoul, 47 Brand, Landseer, Strafe, FORLOH, and dozens of others license brrr°’s patented cooling textile technology for their apparel.
“I’ve been living in this thing recently, and it actually lowers your body temperature,” Tom Brady recently raved about the BRADY Cool Touch Short Sleeve t-shirt made with brrr° fabric. “It’s perfect for Tampa. I put them to the test, and it made all the difference.”
brrr°’s appeal goes far beyond the athletic and sports category with lifestyle and business attire brands such as Southern Tide, Vineyard Vines, Pajamagram, Shinesty, Lilly Pulitzer and ADAY also using brrr° technology.
Natural cooling minerals
Most brands that market themselves as “cooling” don’t actually cool — they just wick. Some use chemical sprays and coatings to achieve a cooling sensation, which wash out and fade over time.
Other products like snap towels have to be wet to activate the cooling effect, which might be OK for athletic activities or mowing the lawn, but isn’t very practical for workplace or leisure wear.
brrr° cooling fabric technology is different because it’s permanently embedded in the structure of the yarn when the material is extruded and produced. That means the brrr° cooling sensation lasts the lifetime of the garment, and won’t wash out or diminish over time.
“It was important to us that the cooling sensation from brrr° was instant when the fabric touches your skin, and permanently part of the fabric for durability and ease of use,” said Kolb.
Performance cooling with brrr° Pro
brrr° invests heavily in research and development to create even more advanced cooling fabric technologies, and the Atlanta-based company recently introduced a new performance cooling product called brrr° Pro.
brrr° Pro uses micro cooling minerals to amplify the cooling sensation, plus hyper wicking and performance drying.
In independent lab testing, brrr° Pro Polyester scored 0.194 in Q-MAX cool-touch testing, which was 81% better than another brand of cooling fabric and 53% better than a comparable performance polyester. It also outperformed other products in wicking and drying tests.
“brrr° Pro intensifies the cooling sensation because there is more surface area for our micro cooling minerals to draw heat and moisture away from the skin,” Kolb said.
Sustainable and eco-friendly
brrr° also offers its cooling technology in fabrics made with recycled material, which diverts material from landfills and reduces the use of virgin polyester, nylon and other materials.
brrr° Recycled fabrics are GRS Certified in accordance with Global Recycled Standards, which shows customers and consumers that companies are committed to meeting internationally recognized sustainability standards and practices.
GRS verifies that recycled materials are used, and it tracks responsible production methods. Companies with GRS certification must demonstrate a chain of custody, and obtain certification from a professional third party that audits and validates each step in the supply chain.
brrr° has enjoyed GRS certification for many years through its mill partners, and in 2022 it obtained its own direct GRS certification.
The future of cool
brrr° holds several patents on its cooling yarn and fabric technologies, and is pursuing the next generation of cooling minerals and advanced formulas that can help keep people even more cool and comfortable as they go about everyday life.
The increased pace of global warming and extreme weather events adds a sense of urgency to brrr°’s work. Kolb sees a sustainability angle with brrr° because people who are cooler at work, at play, and everywhere in between may not need to use as much energy for air conditioning.
“When life brings the heat, brrr° is proven to help keep you cooler,” Kolb said.
Learn more about brrr° performance cooling fabric technology at brrr.com.
To read the full Sports Textiles article, click here.