The hook and loop fastener is very popular and has been around for decades. The story of how this useful material came to be begins in 1941 when a Swiss engineer named Georges de Mestral was walking through the woods in his native land.

As de Mestral was trekking through the Jura mountains with his dog, he noticed small burrs were latching onto his clothes and his dog’s fur. While most people would simply brush them off and keep walking, de Mestral grew curious. He wondering why these burrs stuck to him while other plant life did not.
Upon further inspection, he discovered the small hooks of the burrs were attaching themselves to microscopic loops in the fabric of his pants. He immediately began wondering how he could put this simple method of attachment to use, and after 8 years of research developed the first ever iteration of what we now know as hook and loop material.

By 1978, when de Mestral’s original patent expired, there were dozens of cheap imitators from overseas ready to flood the market. This increase in producers is why most people associate the name Velcro® with all hook and loop material, when, in fact, that is just the name of the original manufacturer.

By the 1990’s uses for Velcro were off the charts. Lawn games, luggage, rainwear, tennis shoes and an endless list of other applications made hook and loop material one of the most commonly used fasteners on the planet. In 2004, the U.S. Army started using the material in their combat uniforms.

The hook and loop fastener has proved to be a timeless invention that is constantly being used for new applications. Considering it’s unique origin story, there’s no telling where you’ll see this amazing material used next.