Our history
We make clothes designed to be loved, washed and worn, and then passed on to the next child. And the next. Our goal is at least three children for each garment!
When we began our journey in 1976, our vision was to offer stylish, practical clothing of high quality — a foundation we still stand firmly on today. Our classic stripe has been with us from the very beginning and has become a timeless icon and a true signature. But over the last 50 years, a lot more has happened too.
It all started with Nils and Karin
Our story begins with Nils and Karin, a couple driven by a strong belief in making everyday life easier for families. In the early years, alongside handmade children’s clothing and medical products, they also sold condoms. To them, it all made sense. Both were deeply affected by seeing how many children were living in difficult circumstances, unable to stay with their parents, and felt a calling to give parents the freedom to choose.
Polarn O. Pyret is born
As the years passed and condoms became widely available elsewhere, the couple chose to focus entirely on children’s clothing. At the same time, the name Polarn O. Pyret was born — reflecting a growing range that now included larger sizes for older children. “Polarn” would reach the older kids, while remaining a friendly companion to the younger “pyrets”. The name Polarn O. Pyret remains to this day, most often shortened to PO.P.
The stripe – PO.P Originals – is introduced
With full focus on children’s clothing, things quickly gained momentum. In the 1970s, through an in-house collaboration with Gunila Axén and Katarina af Klintberg, something truly special was created: PO.P Originals — our classic striped essentials in soft cotton jersey. The goal was to simplify everyday life for fathers as more women began working outside the home. The stripes came in red, blue and brown — a deliberate colour choice based on the idea that children should be children. The stripes were unisex, suitable everywhere, and washable at any temperature. You simply couldn’t get it wrong.
From fashion icons to playground favourites
Much has happened since then. Our range has expanded, evolved and changed. Over our 50 years, we have helped write Swedish fashion history with collections for both women and men. Our stripes have become timeless icons. We have designed garments that are now everyday essentials for children everywhere. And we have continuously refined our key pieces — proudly watching them being passed on, again and again.
A leader in sustainability and circularity
Sustainability has been at our core from the very beginning. Our ambition to always find smarter, more environmentally responsible solutions guides every decision we make. We take our role as a leader in a more sustainable and circular clothing industry seriously, constantly challenging every small step of our production chain to see how we can move even closer to our climate goals. In 2025, we added yet another line on the back label of our garments — a clear promise that we are always moving forward and will continue our work to extend the life of everything we create.
PO.P Second Hand
For us, quality has always meant creating garments that can be loved longer and by more people. Our second-hand initiative dates back to the 1970s, when customers could buy pre-loved garments in our stores. In 2010, we launched our online second-hand service, which quickly became popular. Since then, second hand has been introduced in all our Nordic stores — where you can both hand in used PO.P garments and discover new-old favourites.