Hudson's Bay point blanket

[5] In 1798, a mill owner received a purchase order for "30 pair[s] of 3 points to be striped with four colors (red, blue, green, yellow) according to your judgement.

[6] From the early days of the fur trade, wool blankets were made into hooded coats called capotes by both natives and French Canadian voyageurs, which were well-suited to Canada's cold winters.

[9][8] The date was November 20, 1811, and British Army Captain Charles Roberts, wrote a letter to Captain Evans, Adjutant General in Quebec, making a requisition, written as follows: “All hopes having now ceased of the arrival of the schooner Hunter or any other vessel from Amherstburg with the clothing of the detachment, I am this day obtaining, upon my requisition to the storekeeper of the Indian Department, a consignment of heavy blankets, for the purpose of making them great coats, a measure the severity of the climate strongly demands and one, I trust, the commander of the forces will not disapprove of when he is informed that not a remnant remains of the coats served out to them in the year 1807 and that they have received none since.” – Captain Charles Roberts[10]Roberts requisitioned HBC 3.5-point blankets from the British Indian Department to manufacture greatcoats for his troops.

[9][8] John Askin Jr., a Métis and keeper of the King's stores at the fort, hired local women to design and manufacture forty woollen greatcoats.

[9] The new design of the Mackinaw jacket was so beneficial for travelling through woods and trails that orders were received from people located from Fort William to Penetanguishene.

[9] More than 100 years into the future, when the Hudson's Bay Company began to commercially sell point blanket coats, the Mackinaw jacket remained popular with their customers.

[3] The official licensee allowed to import Hudson's Bay Blankets into the United States for commercial sale is Woolrich Inc. of Pennsylvania.

Four U.S. retailers as of 2012[update] sell the blankets to consumers: Woolrich, L.L.Bean, Getz's Department Store in Marquette, Michigan, and Johnson Woolen Mills.

[14][15] In April 2017, HBC updated the label, rotating it from vertical to horizontal, making it easy to display English and French on either side of the crest, which has been enhanced with red on the flag.