YKK Zippers
Zip Fly Zip by vonvonvon
I was thinking the other day about trademarks and companies that own more or less a monopoly on certain products/services/etc. Two companies that came to mind were 3M, specifically for their Post-Its and their Scotchlite Reflective Material; and the other company was YKK, whose simple logo consisting of the letters “YKK” adorn many of the zippers on the products we own and use each day.
Random: Did you know YKK stood for Yoshida K?gy? Kabushiki-gaisha?
Just think about the reach that YKK has as a global company manufacturing a global product. There’s no doubt that you own many items in your life with the YKK zipper. Check your purses, bags, bookbags, pants, jeans, jackets, and you’ll find that many, if not all of them come with YKK zippers. If it’s not a YKK zipper, maybe you should check to see if it’s a counterfeit! I never even thought zippers could be counterfeit, but I guess someone’s always gonna be chasing the leader to make some fast cash.
There are plenty of alternative fasteners to choose from instead of zippers, but imagine the vital differences between them. Zippers are more or less silent, they are easy to use, and they require the simplest of materials to produce. And because YKK is already a market leader in fastener sales and distribution, it’s hard to think that their dominion in the fashion and clothing industry will diminish any time soon.
As a bonus, check out the original patent for the zipper, or rather, the “separable fastener“, filed on March 20, 1917.
A Chinese YKK Group advertisement, I think.
Now…if they could only solve my problems of getting my zipper stuck!
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