Material guide – WOOLRICH®

From the foundation through to development

In 1830, English immigrant and future founder of WOOLRICH® Inc., John Rich, set up his first wool mill in Plum Rum in the American state of Pennsylvania at the age of 25. To begin with, Rich sold his high quality woollen goods to the local loggers and miners, and was so successful that he was able to expand his wool mill in 1845. The Chatham Run mill still exists today and is part of the modern company complex of the successful WOOLRICH® Inc. Its strategic location on the Susquehanna River enabled the use of waterwheel-driven spinning machines to increase productivity. During the course of the railway construction in the middle of the 19th century, more WOOLRICH® products were sold than ever before.

The material today

The timeless waistcoats worn by the railway workers are still among WOOLRICH®'s bestsellers to this day. Another item of clothing that has its origins in this period is the buffalo check lumberjack shirt, which, thanks to the high quality wool, has kept generations of forest workers warm. The red and black chequered wool fabric has become the trademark of WOOLRICH®. Technological developments, new production methods and a change of lifestyle in America convinced WOOLRICH® to go into the functional outdoor business. In the early 1940s, WOOLRICH® Inc. celebrated one of the greatest achievements in this field and equipped the Antarctic expedition of Admiral Byrd on behalf of the US government.

Perfect in the cold and wet

175 years after founding its first wool mill, the name WOOLRICH® has become a sign of quality. The basis for creating WOOLRICH® products is the natural animal fibre, wool. Wool is obtained from the hair of various types of sheep, camelids or rabbit species and is particularly popular in cold and wet weather. This is mainly thanks to the material's thermo-regulatory properties. Due to its voluminous shape, wool traps a lot of air and therefore stores heat very well. It is also not impacted by moisture, as it can absorb up to 35% of its dry weight in moisture without feeling damp. Wool is also extremely wrinkle-resistant and has antistatic properties. Wool from the American mill is of such high quality that the company registered the brand under the WOOLRICH® trademarked name.

Wool has a natural self-cleaning function and therefore absorbs odours and dirt poorly. If you need to wash a WOOLRICH® product, we recommend using a gentle washing cycle or washing the product by hand. Wool is extremely sensitive to mechanical abrasion when wet. Excessively high friction can cause the scales of the wool fibres to interlock, cause the wool to felt and shrink your WOOLRICH® product.

Anyone looking for high quality woollen goods is sure to not be disappointed by WOOLRICH®!