New England Fire Leaves Consumers Out In The Cold

News reports have heralded Malden Mills owner Aaron Feuerstein for his compassion to employees following the fire that leveled the Massachusetts plant two weeks before Christmas.

But what about the masses of consumers yearning to be warm?

Malden Mills, for those who don’t know, produces Polartec, the synthetic fleece that has become the enormously popular, high-tech answer to wool.

Polartec is crafted into sweaters, blankets, jacket linings and numerous other products by various manufacturers. It’s light, soft and non-allergenic. It wicks moisture away from the body, provides some warmth when wet and dries very quickly, making it the darling fabric of active people who play outdoors in extreme conditions.

The only major drawback is that synthetic fleece melts instantly when exposed to fire. Wool, at least, gives you a few smoldering moments to react.

Anyway, back to the disaster.

“Most retailers are assuming there could be a yearlong, worldwide shortage of Polartec,” said Stuart Irving, spokesman for Marmot Mountain Works. “Everyone’s going to run to Dyersburg, the only other domestic manufacturer of synthetic fleece, and they won’t be able to handle the demand.”

Although Malden Mills is making a heroic effort to rebuild its plant and put employees back to work, consumers likely will feel some impact of the fire by April, when Polartec products become harder to find and possibly more expensive.

Julie Whiting, marketing specialist for REI, said the disaster could force Polartec out of some of the fringe clothing markets where the fleece was used more for fashion than function.

But major outdoor companies such as REI likely will be the first to be serviced when Malden Mills goes back on line, Whiting said, noting that “the problem could be fairly seamless for our customers.”

She warns, however, that fringe markets might switch to Asian-produced fleeces that are not up to Polartec’s quality standards.

Hope you got your new fleece sweater for Christmas.

Put out at the parks

While the budget bickering continues in Washington, D.C., fallout from the federal government shutdown is hitting close to home.

For example, pretend you were among the 100 or so people who had planned months in advance for a holiday vacation to Stehekin.

You would have received a call last week from Jeff Slater of Stehekin Lodge, the North Cascades National Park concession at the west end of Lake Chelan.

“We’re here and ready, but the government has shut down the park,” he would have told you. “I’ve been trying to warn everyone that there’s very little chance we will be able to open before Jan. 3.”

That means at least 100 people will not be spending their holidays or their money at Lake Chelan this week. They won’t be buying $21 round-trip tickets on the Lady of the Lake, the boat that provides access to the back-country hideaway.

They won’t be staying overnight or eating in Chelan, before or after their visit. They won’t be renting skis or going home with good reviews to spread by word of mouth.

Instead, they’ll be getting refunds averaging $100 per person per day for their canceled lodging reservations.

“Let’s just say we’re losing a substantial amount of money,” said Slater, who took over two years ago.

To aggravate the situation, Sunset Magazine just ran an article on Stehekin, and Slater just spent a good chunk of his budget for newspaper ads.

But guests have not taken out their frustration on Slater.

“Everyone has been very understanding for our part,” he said. “They’re more concerned about us than they are with the inconvenience of canceling their vacation. They’re not so forgiving with the government, though.”

While displaced guests scramble to find a place to spend their vacation, Slater sees only one potential way to recoup his financial losses.

“If I had buck for every time somebody asked why the national parks are shut down, I’d be in the black,” he said.

, DataTimes MEMO: You can contact Rich Landers by voice mail at 459-5577, extension 5508.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review