Microfibers are very fine fibers with a diameter of less than one denier. “Denier” is the term used to describe the diameter or fineness of a fiber. It is the weight in grams of a 9,000-meter (9,842 yards) length of fiber. Many microfibers are 0.5 to 0.6 denier. As a comparison, microfibers are 100 times finer than human hair and half the diameter of a fine silk fiber. The first microfiber fabric was Ultrasuede™ created by Miyoshi Okamoto in 1970 at Toray Industries in Japan. His colleague, Toyohiko Hikota, perfected the process to create a soft, supple, stain-resistant fabric.