Polar fleece (also known as microfleece or micrafleece), usually referre to simply as "fleece", is a soft napped insulating synthetic wool fabric made from PET or other synthetic fibres. One of the first forms was Polar Fleece created in 1979 by Malden Mills, a new, light and strong pile fabric meant to mimic and in some ways surpass wool. Fleece has some of wool's finest qualities but weighs a fraction of the lightest available woolens.