Fabrics & fibers
- Polar fleece
- Knit polyester fabric brushed on both sides for a soft pile. The workhorse blanket fabric — affordable, warm, machine-washable, fast-drying. Typical weights 200–300 GSM. Used for picnic blankets, travel blankets, promotional throws.
- Coral fleece
- A polyester fleece with a longer, fluffier pile than polar fleece. Softer hand, slightly more luxurious appearance. 260–320 GSM range. Common for retail throw blankets and home goods.
- Sherpa
- A nubby, curly faux-shearling fabric — looks and feels like sheepskin. Very warm. Often used as a reverse face on a coral fleece blanket (double-face construction). 320–400 GSM.
- Micromink
- A short-pile, very dense polyester with a silky-soft hand. Premium feel. Used for high-end home throws and double-face throws backed with sherpa. 300–360 GSM.
- rPET fleece
- Recycled polyester fleece made from post-consumer PET bottles. GRS-certifiable when produced under chain-of-custody. Roughly 18 bottles per king-size throw. Same hand-feel as virgin polyester fleece.
- Ripstop nylon
- A lightweight, very strong woven nylon with reinforcement threads every few mm in a grid pattern (the "stop" in ripstop). Used for sand-free beach blankets. Common weights 210T and 420D.
- Oxford polyester
- A heavier basket-weave woven polyester, often 600D denier, used for camping ground mats and rugged outdoor blankets. Abrasion resistant, holds reinforcing PVC or PU coating well.
- Jacquard wool
- Pure wool or wool-blend (often acrylic or cotton blend) woven on a jacquard loom that allows multi-color patterns to be woven directly into the fabric. Premium hospitality and heritage retail use.
Weight & construction
- GSM (g/m²)
- Grams per square meter — the weight of the fabric per unit area. Higher GSM generally means warmer, denser, more premium. A 320 GSM picnic blanket is heavier and warmer than a 220 GSM travel blanket.
- Denier (D)
- A measure of yarn thickness used for synthetic woven fabrics like nylon and polyester. Higher denier = thicker yarn = more durable. 210T is lightweight; 600D is heavy-duty.
- Pile
- The raised surface fibers on fleece or velvet fabrics. Longer pile = softer feel but more shedding risk. Density matters as much as length.
- Hem
- The finished edge of the blanket — usually folded and stitched. Common variants: double-fold hem (most durable), satin-bound edge (premium), whip-stitched (decorative), serged (cost-optimized).
Waterproof backing
- PEVA
- Polyethylene Vinyl Acetate. A cost-effective waterproof film. Lightweight, recyclable, PVC-free. Less rugged than PU or TPU; best for occasional-use picnic blankets.
- PU (polyurethane)
- A mid-tier waterproof coating or film. More durable and abrasion-resistant than PEVA, slightly heavier. Good general-purpose backing for picnic blankets.
- TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane)
- The premium waterproof backing. Recyclable, very durable, no PVC. Higher cost, used on outdoor-brand and retail-grade picnic blankets.
- Heat-bonded (vs glue-laminated)
- Heat-bonding fuses the backing film to the fleece face with heat and a stabilizing scrim. Survives washing. Glue lamination is cheaper but peels after the first wash — a common defect in low-tier imports.
Decoration methods
- Flat embroidery
- Logo stitched into the fabric with a computer-controlled multi-head embroidery machine (typically Tajima). Best for corner monograms on throws, gym towels, golf towels. Up to 16 thread colors.
- 3D puff embroidery
- Embroidery with a foam underlay, creating a raised "puffy" effect. Used for bold lettering and chunky logos.
- Dye-sublimation print
- A heat-transfer print process for polyester fabrics. The ink converts from solid to gas under heat, bonding inside the fiber rather than sitting on top. Result: full-color photographic prints with no hand-feel and excellent wash-fastness.
- Jacquard weave
- The pattern is woven directly into the fabric using a programmable loom. No print, no stitch — just texture and tone. Premium retail and hospitality.
- Screen print
- Ink pressed through a stencil onto the fabric. Cost-optimized for single or limited-color logos on cheaper fleece blankets (stadium throws, event swag). Avoid PVC plastisol inks for eco-conscious brands; we use water-based.
- Woven label
- A small fabric label woven on a loom, sewn into the corner or hem. The premium private-label finishing touch.
Certifications
- OEKO-TEX Standard 100
- An international certification testing for harmful substances in textiles. Class I is the strictest tier (safe for baby skin contact). FIELDLOOM products ship as Class I by default.
- GRS (Global Recycled Standard)
- Chain-of-custody certification for products containing recycled material. Required by many EU and US brands selling recycled-content blankets.
- REACH
- EU regulation governing chemicals in products. Importers into the EU often require REACH test reports per shipment for dyestuffs and coatings.
- CPSIA
- US Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act — sets limits on lead and phthalates in children's products. Required for blankets marketed to children.
- BSCI
- Business Social Compliance Initiative — a factory-level social audit covering labor conditions, wages and safety. Common requirement from major EU retailers.
Commercial terms
- MOQ
- Minimum Order Quantity. Our standard is 500 pieces per design/color. Some methods (jacquard) require 1,000 due to loom setup cost.
- Lead time
- Time from order confirmation to ship — typically 25–50 days for blankets depending on decoration. Excludes shipping transit.
- FOB
- Free On Board — the price covers goods to the port of departure (Ningbo or Shanghai for us). Buyer arranges ocean freight from there.
- DDP
- Delivered Duty Paid — we handle ocean freight, customs and duties to your destination warehouse. Higher price, less complexity for you.
- AQL 2.5
- Acceptable Quality Limit 2.5 — the standard inspection criterion for general merchandise. Sets allowable defect counts per sample size.
- Pantone TCX vs Pantone C
- TCX is the textile (cotton-paper) Pantone reference; Pantone C is the coated paper reference. Always match textile-dyed color to TCX, not C.
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