Chrome Industries is a global manufacturer of

messenger bag A messenger bag (also called a courier bag) is a type of sack, usually made of cloth (natural or synthetic). It is worn over one shoulder with a strap that goes across the chest resting the bag on the lower back. While messenger bags are som ...

backpacks A backpack—also called knapsack, schoolbag, rucksack, rucksac, pack, sackpack, booksack, bookbag or backsack—is, in its simplest frameless form, a fabric sack carried on one's back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders ...

, sling Bags, travel Bags,

utility cycling Utility cycling encompasses any cycling done simply as a means of transport rather than as a sport or leisure activity. It is the original and most common type of cycling in the world. Cycling mobility is one of the various types of private ...

apparel and utility cycling footwear geared specifically for the bike messenger and fixed gear scenes. After establishing a reputation in Boulder, Colorado in 1995, Chrome moved to Denver for several years before relocating in 2002 to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. In June 2017, the company moved its headquarters to Portland, Oregon. In August 2010, Chrome opened its second retail store in

Manhattan, New York Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. stat ...

, and had retail locations in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with list of lakes in Minneapolis, thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. ...

, a second San Francisco location in the

Mission District The Mission District ( Spanish: ''Distrito de la Misión''), commonly known as The Mission ( Spanish: ''La Misión''), is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California. One of the oldest neighborhoods in San Francisco, the Mission District's name i ...

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

, and

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

. Due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...

they closed all of their retail stores permanently.

Manufacturing

Their bags are built with industrial materials including

tarpaulin A tarpaulin ( , ) or tarp is a large sheet of strong, flexible, water-resistant or waterproof material, often cloth such as canvas or polyester coated with polyurethane, or made of plastics such as polyethylene. Tarpaulins often have reinforc ...

Cordura Cordura is a collection of synthetic fiber-based fabric technologies used in a wide array of products including luggage, backpacks, trousers, military wear and performance apparel. Originally developed and registered as a trademark by E.I. d ...

and steel. Chrome's popular bag line, the Mini-Metro and Citizen Messenger Bag, are recognizable by their signature seatbelt buckle release that doubles as a bottle opener. The company started building their bags in a garage in Colorado using salvaged materials like seatbelt buckles and seatbelt webbing, which they continue to use across their entire range of product offerings. They have since expanded to incorporate an apparel line, which includes their best-selling

Merino The Merino is a breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monopoly; exports of the bree ...

Wool Cobra Hoodie, and a shoe line including their best-selling low-profile design Kursk street shoe with built-in cycling functionalities such as reflective hits, shoelace garage, skid resistant soles and

polyurethane Polyurethane (; often abbreviated PUR and PU) refers to a class of polymers composed of organic chemistry, organic units joined by carbamate (urethane) links. In contrast to other common polymers such as polyethylene and polystyrene, polyurethan ...

contoured crash pad insole.

Athletic sponsorships and company partnerships

Chrome's previous sponsored athletes included professional skateboarders,

John Cardiel John Joseph Cardiel (born December 14, 1973) is a former professional skateboarder and snowboarder who has been a core member of the AntiHero Skateboards company since it was founded in 1995. Early life Cardiel was born in San Jose, Californi ...

, John Igei, Massan Fluker, Damian Riehl, Alonso Tal, and Cody Lockwood. Chrome partnerships have incorporated such companies and entities as Bad Religion, Krooked Skateboards,

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a prec ...

, Artist and illustrator, Pat Perry,

Tim Kasher Timothy J. Kasher (born August 19, 1974) is an American musician from Omaha, Nebraska, and is the frontman of indie rock groups Cursive and the Good Life, both of which are on the Omaha-based record label Saddle Creek Records. Music Slowdo ...

, and philanthropic organizations such as the

World Food Programme The World Food Programme; it, Programma alimentare mondiale; es, Programa Mundial de Alimentos; ar, برنامج الأغذية العالمي, translit=barnamaj al'aghdhiat alealami; russian: Всемирная продовольствен� ...

and San Francisco's St. Anthony Foundation."San Francisco's Chrome gives veterans new shoes", San Francisco Chronicle, 2010-11-12, https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/amp/San-Francisco-s-Chrome-gives-veterans-new-shoes-3166912.php, Retrieved 2021-12-09

References

{{Reflist

External links

Chrome Official Website
Clothing companies of the United States Clothing manufacturers Companies based in Portland, Oregon American companies established in 1995 1995 establishments in Colorado