Gore continuously strives to deliver outdoor products with the optimal combination of high technical performance and sustainability. By adopting the ambitious goal to eliminate PFCs of Environmental Concern from all of our consumer fabrics products we are underlining our decades long commitment to continuously improve the environmental profile of our products. Together with our suppliers, we intend to achieve our goal through an aggressive innovation program that will entail the development of new DWR treatments and membrane materials.
PFCs (per and poly-fluorinated chemicals) is a term with no commonly agreed definition, and like PFAS (per and poly fluorinated alkyl substances), generally refers to a broad group of highly fluorinated compounds with vastly differing physical attributes and properties. So, in communicating about PFCs it is important to be specific about the particular PFC or group of PFCs being discussed.
Gore has identified a group of PFCs as being of environmental concern. These PFCs of Environmental Concern are highly fluorinated, small enough to be bioavailable, and persistent. Although not all PFCs of Environmental Concern are hazardous, they do have the potential to become widely dispersed in water, where they will remain for multiple generations. Therefore, Gore Fabrics has established goals to eliminate them from the life cycle of our consumer fabrics products.
PTFE is not a PFC of Environmental Concern. PTFE is safe and environmentally sound. This fluoropolymer is highly stable, too large to be bioavailable, insoluble in water, and does not degrade in the environment. Therefore, it is not a PFC of Environmental Concern and it does not degrade into them.
GORE-TEX garments have a textile treatment called DWR - a durable water repellent polymer - applied to the outermost fabric layer so that water beads up and rolls off rather than soaking in. DWR is important as it provides comfort and protection to the end-user.
Once the water repellency is lost users feel uncomfortable and may not be able to maintain the right body temperature resulting for example in loss of focus and endurance. Also end-users may perceive the garments are not waterproof. As a consequence such products may no longer be used and replaced with new ones. In other words: a low performing DWR can increase the negative environmental impact of a jacket.
The substances we use today for our DWR are safe for the end-user and the environment when applied responsibly. Gore Fabrics uses only those materials that have gone through thorough scrutiny by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and are approved for use in Europe, Japan and China as well as meeting Norway’s product standards.
In 2016 Gore announced its intention to deliver a new DWR offering. This DWR will be free of PFCs of Environmental Concern. The new products will be designed for the general outdoor consumer and for end-uses where the high performance and durability of current short-chain PFC-based solutions are not fully exploited, e.g. day hiking or lift served skiing. These products are planned to be available at retail for Autumn /Winter 2018 season.
At the heart of GORE-TEX fabrics is an extremely thin membrane that is durably waterproof, windproof and breathable. Gore Fabrics uses ePTFE (an expanded form of PTFE) for this membrane.
PTFE is a fluoropolymer. Fluoropolymers are extremely valuable materials that have unique properties and enable high performing products. For example, the use of fluoropolymers will enhance the durability of a product, enabling a longer life and lowering its environmental footprint. Fluoropolymers are a separate family of high-performance plastics that are different from water and oil repellency treatments.
This fluoropolymer is inert, insoluble in water, extremely stable and not biodegradable. Therefore, it does not degrade to become a source of PFCs of Environmental Concern.
The clear distinction between PFCs of Environmental Concern and PTFE will help overcome a long-standing ambiguity of how to differentiate materials that are safe from those that raise concerns. In addition to providing clearly defined guardrails for the outdoor industry, a rigorous and precise definition clears the way for Gore and its customers to deliver more sustainable technology innovations.
The expansion process was first discovered by Bob Gore when he rapidly stretched PTFE under certain conditions. The result was an incredibly strong, microporous material with an amazing list of characteristics including low water adsorption and good weathering properties, expanded PTFE or ePTFE. In 1970 Gore applied for what was to become the first of many patents for GORE-TEX products made with Gore's signature product technology.
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