Craft Sportswear

Craft Sportswear is a Swedish producer of functional sports apparel based in Borås, a traditional textile-industry center in southern Sweden. The brand developed from Anders Bengtsson’s effort to create underwear and base-layer garments that could move perspiration away from the skin during physical activity. His early work began in 1973, before the Craft of Sweden brand was formally established in 1977. The original product concept centered on the behavior of polyester fibers. Rather than relying on highly absorbent materials, Bengtsson worked with fibers that took up relatively little moisture and used a specific textile construction to encourage capillary movement. In practical terms, the fabric was designed to draw sweat from the body toward the outside of the garment, where it could evaporate more quickly. Bengtsson reportedly evaluated prototypes by weighing garments before and after exercise, using the change in weight as an indication of moisture retention. Craft’s technical proposition expanded from base layers into a three-layer clothing system. The first layer was designed to manage moisture next to the skin; the second layer provided insulation while continuing to support moisture transport; and the outer layer supplied protection from weather and the surrounding environment. This layered approach became a central organizing principle for the brand’s product development and helped it move beyond underwear into broader sports clothing. The company subsequently developed apparel for a range of activities. Its strongest areas include running, triathlon, cycling, and cross-country skiing, with a particular emphasis on technical outerwear and other performance garments. Craft also offers products for additional sports and outdoor uses, including base layers, insulating mid-layers, shells, training apparel, and sport-specific clothing. The brand’s identity is therefore tied less to fashion-led seasonal wear than to functional construction, material performance, layering, and use in demanding physical conditions. In 1996, New Wave Group acquired the brand. Craft continued to operate as a sportswear brand associated with technical performance and Scandinavian design traditions. Its products are sold across Sweden and wider international markets, including Europe, North America, and Asia. The brand’s public positioning is that of a specialist performance-sportswear company serving athletes, active consumers, teams, and outdoor participants who require garments that combine moisture management, insulation, weather protection, and freedom of movement. Craft has also attracted criticism concerning the use of low-wage countries in the manufacture of its fabrics and garments. This criticism relates to production geography and labor-cost concerns rather than to a documented legal or regulatory scandal in the supplied reference material. No verified financial figures, public-market listing, current executive roster, or subsequent ownership change are established by the available sources.

Craft Sportswear originated in the work of Swedish inventor and entrepreneur Anders Bengtsson. In 1973, Bengtsson began developing a base-layer material intended to transport perspiration away from the skin during exercise. The project addressed a practical problem in sports clothing: garments worn next to the body can become heavy and uncomfortable when they retain sweat, reducing comfort and potentially affecting thermal regulation during prolonged activity. Bengtsson experimented with polyester fibers because they absorb comparatively little moisture. He combined those fibers with a textile construction intended to promote capillary movement, allowing perspiration to travel from the inner surface of a garment toward its outer surface. Once on the exterior, the moisture could evaporate more readily. To assess the effectiveness of his designs, Bengtsson tested the garments during exercise and weighed them before and after use. The difference provided a simple way to examine how much moisture the fabric had retained. The Craft of Sweden brand was formally established in 1977. Its initial focus was technical underwear and base layers, but the business soon expanded into a broader clothing system. Craft developed a three-layer principle consisting of a moisture-managing first layer, an insulating second layer, and a protective outer shell. The system reflected the brand’s functional approach: each garment layer had a defined role, while the layers worked together to regulate comfort and protect the wearer from cold, wind, precipitation, and exertion-related moisture. The move into second-layer products brought fleece and other insulating garments into the range. Outerwear followed, extending the brand’s offer from clothing worn directly against the skin to garments designed for exposure to the elements. This progression gave Craft a product architecture that could serve different levels of activity and weather protection rather than limiting the company to a single category of sports underwear. As the brand developed, it broadened its sports coverage. Craft became particularly associated with running, triathlon, cycling, and cross-country skiing, areas in which moisture control, freedom of movement, insulation, and protection are central performance requirements. The company also offered gear for other sports, but its technical reputation remained closely linked to endurance and outdoor activities. Its product identity emphasized material engineering and functional layering over purely decorative design. In 1996, New Wave Group acquired the brand. The acquisition placed Craft within a larger corporate group while preserving its identity as a Swedish technical-sportswear marque. Craft’s base in Borås is significant to its identity because the city has a long-established textile tradition, connecting the company’s modern performance-apparel focus with a Swedish manufacturing and textile context. The brand subsequently operated in international markets, including Europe, North America, and Asia. Its range continued to center on technical apparel for athletes and active consumers, with base layers, insulation, shells, running garments, cycling clothing, triathlon products, and cross-country skiing apparel among the principal categories. Available reference material does not establish detailed later corporate milestones, individual executive appointments, financial results, or specific campaign histories. Craft has faced criticism over the production of clothing and fabrics in low-wage countries. The criticism concerns the social and labor implications of global apparel manufacturing. The available reference does not document a specific lawsuit, recall, regulatory finding, or other confirmed scandal arising from those concerns. Accordingly, the issue is best recorded as a criticism associated with the brand’s production model rather than as a verified scandal.

• 1996

  Acquisition by New Wave Group

  [1]Craft Sportswearen.wikipedia.org

  New Wave Group acquired the Craft brand.

• 1977

  Craft of Sweden formally established

  [1]Craft Sportswearen.wikipedia.org

  The Craft of Sweden brand was officially founded, initially focusing on technical base layers and sports underwear.

• 1977

  Expansion into the three-layer clothing principle

  [1]Craft Sportswearen.wikipedia.org

  After establishing its base-layer business, Craft expanded into insulating second layers and protective outer shells, creating a functional three-layer system.

• 1973

  Development of moisture-transporting base-layer material

  [1]Craft Sportswearen.wikipedia.org

  Anders Bengtsson began developing sports underwear and base-layer material designed to move perspiration away from the skin during exercise.

A specialist Scandinavian performance-sportswear brand focused on functional construction, moisture management, layered protection, and technical apparel for endurance, cycling, running, skiing, and outdoor activities.

• Base layers and sports underwear · 1977

  Technical base layers

  Craft’s foundational product category consists of garments worn next to the skin and designed to transport perspiration outward. The original concept used low-moisture-absorption polyester fibers and a textile construction intended to encourage capillary movement. These garments form the first layer in Craft’s broader clothing system and are intended to support comfort and moisture management during exercise.

• Fleece and insulation

  Insulating mid-layers

  The second layer in Craft’s system provides insulation while continuing to work with the moisture-management function of the base layer. The category includes fleece-focused garments and other insulating apparel intended to retain warmth without abandoning the brand’s emphasis on breathability and moisture transport.

• Technical shells and outer layers

  Protective outerwear

  Craft’s outer-layer products are designed to provide protection from external conditions such as wind, precipitation, and cold. They complete the three-layer principle by placing a protective shell over moisture-managing and insulating garments. The category supports outdoor and endurance activities in variable weather.

• Endurance sportswear

  Running and triathlon apparel

  Craft specializes in technical garments for running and triathlon, where low weight, moisture control, mobility, and thermal comfort are important. The range extends the brand’s original base-layer expertise into sport-specific apparel for training and competition.

• Cycling sportswear

  Cycling apparel

  Craft’s cycling clothing applies its functional sportswear approach to riding conditions, combining technical fabric use with garments intended for sustained activity, changing weather, and freedom of movement. Cycling is one of the brand’s principal areas of specialization.

• Nordic skiing sportswear

  Cross-country skiing apparel

  Cross-country skiing is a core category for Craft. Its apparel is designed around the competing requirements of aerobic exertion, cold-weather insulation, moisture transport, and protection from wind and snow, making the three-layer system particularly relevant to this sport.

1. 1Craft Sportswearen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Craft Sportswear official websitecraftsportswear.com
3. 3Craft raises $10 million Series A funding to bring a 360-degree view of any company to the enterpriseprnewswire.com