A Brief History of the Zipper

We offer a variety of zip up hoodies and sweaters. Here I will be addressing what I'm sure everyone has been wondering: what's the deal with this zipper thing?

History

Something like the zipper was first patented in 1851. Elias Howe, the gentleman who invented the sewing machine, received a patent for an "Automatic, Continuous Clothing Closure." He had had such great success with the sewing machine, however, that he did not try very hard to market or develop the idea. Over half a century later in 1917, the Swedish-American electrical engineer Gideon Sundback developed and got a patent for a "Separable Fastener" and the machinery needed to produce it. Sundback made several improvements on Elias Howe's original idea, including

» increasing the number of fastening elements from four per inch to ten or eleven

» introducing two facing rows of teeth that pulled into a single piece by the slider

» increasing the opening for the teeth guided by the slider

The B.F. Goodrich Company coined the name "zipper." Zippers really took off in the fashion world in the 1930s when they got popular on children's clothing and men's trousers. Today the zipper is by far the most popular fastener.

Our Zippers

We offer many different hoodies and sweatshirts that feature a zipper. Over 90% of the world's zippers are produced in Japan. Our zippers are produced by YKK, the largest zipper manufacturing group in the world, whose largest production center is in Macon, Georgia, USA. So, the next time you're wearing a piece of clothing with a zipper on it, you can appreciate the history of innovation that went into creating this remarkable fastener that few of us take the time to appreciate.