New brand to launch children’s apparel with Dri-release at OR
A new brand of performance children’s apparel with Optimer’s Dri-release technology, designed just for infants and toddlers, will be launched at the upcoming Outdoor Retailer (OR) Winter Market. The brand, Roonwear, is the brainchild of outdoor enthusiasts Bryan and Rebecca Johnson, who have an 18-month year-old son Cameron and noticed a gap in the market for children’s performance wear.
When Cameron was born the couple continued to participate in the same outdoor activities and their son ‘Roon’ always accompanied them whether they were jogging, cycling, hiking, and adventure travelling. At four months he made his first trip to
As Bryan Johnson said, “Here we were, both decked out in great outdoor gear with performance features to the nines that fight the heat, pull moisture away from our skin, keep us fresh and more, yet Cameron was wet and stayed that way in his all-cotton baby clothes.”
Following the trip the Johnsons spent six months testing and honing the line, making sure each product worked on its own and as part of a system, while working towards the January OR show as their goal for the launch. They opted to incorporate Dri-release with FreshGuard—a patented blend of synthetic and natural fibres that accelerates the water release rate of wet fabric—into the collection. Mr Johnson stated, “There are quite a few performance fabrics out there, but most are only synthetic. We wanted a cotton feel. That’s why we chose Dri-release.”
Roonwear is made up of 14 styles from ActiviT shirts to ‘Smiley Sox’ in new Dri-release Wool, and is sized ‘Adventure Infant’ (up to 12 months) and ‘Walkabout’ for toddlers up to five. The ‘Go Outside and Play’ group for both infants and toddlers includes a ‘Half Traveler’ fleece vest and a ‘Full Traveler’ fleece pullover.
All Roonwear styles, except the fleece products, are tagless to eliminate any irritation.
