Gore-Tex Talk Sustainability in Chamonix
Staff team members Cathy and Helen headed out to one of nature’s finest laboratories last week to pester their engineers first-hand about how Gore-Tex is working globally to make their fabrics more environmentally friendly.
Cathy & Helen obviously not enjoying testing Gore-Tex jackets and gloves on the Aiguilles de Marbrées.
So what did we learn?
Well, we have to admit to being relieved to discover that when the company was founded in 1958 by Bill and Veive Gore its’ key principles were to treat people fairly and respect the environment. However, to understand Gore’s ongoing work to make their products more sustainable it’s important to understand a bit of science about the textile we use to keep us dry when we’re playing outdoors: It was their son, Bob, who created the Gore ePTFE membrane in 1969 by rapidly expanding Polytetrafluroethylene under certain conditions. The result was an incredibly strong, microporous material with an amazing list of characteristics that could be used across a multitude of uses from space suits to guitar strings to medical care to coating frying pans (it’s other commercial name is Teflon). Happily for us outdoorsy folk it’s 1.4 billion pores per square centimetre are less than 1/50th the width of a human hair. That means that each pore is 700 times larger than a droplet of water vapour – allowing sweat/steam generated inside the jacket to pass happily through the membrane. Water droplets, on the other hand are a whopping 20,000 times larger than one of the pores so that liquid water physically cannot penetrate the fabric unless it is damaged or a taped seam fails. Of course, in the real world we have a large hole at the base, a smaller one at the top and two holes at the end of each arm in a jacket made of Gore-Tex and anyone who has spent hours in blasting horizontal rain will attest that some days there really is just no staying dry. That said, Gore-Tex fabric is certainly one of the best options due to it’s im-permeability by design.
Photo of the microscopic pores in Gore-Tex ePTFE membrane. They really are very small.
The first commercial orders for Gore-Tex were placed in 1976 and work to scientifically improve the membrane continued. By 1986 solvents were removed from adhesives used within their fabrics and in 1992 Gore adopted the Life Cycle Assessment formula discovering that the longevity of a given product is the most influential factor in improving its environmental impact. This short video explains more about the Life Cycle Assessment and why buying well and buying once is a good edict to live by. The right questions, it seemed were finally being asked so in 1993 Gore piloted a clothing re-cycling system called the Gore Balance Project – only no-one used it. The surprise this elicits in today’s environmentally conscious climate shouldn’t be a shock, after all, how many of us who were in school at the time remember being taught about Global Warming? Yep, most of us have done nothing to act against it too.
Transpiration is the term used for sweat/moisture vapour passing from the inside of your jacket to the outside – although this will only work effectively with the right clothing underneath.
But wait a minute: why were all these solvents and adhesives used in the first place? Surely Gore-Tex is just one piece of woven fabric right? Wrong. When you look at most Gore-Tex jackets you can’t even see the ePTFE membrane with all of the cool pores because it is hidden by protective fabrics/coatings. This can range from dots to a full dark coloured coating on the inside of a Paclite or 2 layer garment to a durable tricot knit mesh lining on heavier duty 3 layer jackets. The Gore-Tex membrane is sandwiched in between these and the many different coloured and different woven densities of face fabrics that define how the jacket looks and performs in the outdoor environment. Even though the waterproof element of your garment is built into the jacket, the outer face fabric is coated with an additional Durable Water Repellent (DWR) treatment to aid breathability – more about that later……
In 1996 Gore adopted the OEKO-TEX Standard 100, confirming that their finished textile laminates were safe to be worn; every thread, button, zip has been tested to confirm they are non-toxic to us. (We’d never even thought to ask that question of our clothing before!!) Fast forward to 2010 and all Gore plants (just under 50 around the globe) implemented Bluesign, a dedicated, sustainable system that helps to change the environmental impact of textiles for good by verifying they are made responsibly. These factories range from manufacturing to multi-million dollar testing facilities including purpose built rain towers where even the shape of the water droplet has been so carefully designed it is patented! Gore really do take testing their products to the extreme VERY seriously.
After “intense” discussions with Greenpeace, Gore identified PFC’s of environmental concern in their DWR coatings. It’s the Durable Water Repellency treatment that, when activated, will force the rain drops hitting the outer face fabric to bead up and run off, aiding the breathability of your garment. You will know when it needs re-acivating because as the rain hits your garment it will soak into the outer fabric and make it darker in colour. This “wetting out” doesn’t mean that your jacket is leaking (liquid water molecules are 20,000 times bigger than a pore, remember?) but it can reduce the efficiency of the water vapour/sweat escaping from your jacket making you feel cold and clammy inside. PFC’s have been used in DWR for years but it took the discussions with Greenpeace to discover that not all PFC’s are good for the environment.
WARNING: we’re going to get a bit sciency again…….
The term PFC refers to per and poly-flourated chemicals, a broad group of highly flourated compounds with vastly differing physical attributes and properties (hence the specifics about dealing with the ones of environmental concern) By 2018 Gore had removed from their DWR those PFC’s that had potential to become widely dispersed in the environment and water where they could persist for multiple generations. This is just part of Gore’s commitment to ridding all of their consumer products of PFCec’s by 2023 and this Autumn/Winter you will find more and more of their garments for sale in our shops have the new PFCec Free durable water repellent coating, easily identifiable by their hangtags.
So, what impact does this have on us as an end user? Well, for one thing, fewer chemical nasties are being released into our environment for future generations to have to breathe/drink/clean up. A more immediate impact for us now is that we are going to need to wash and tumble dry our garments more often. The water repellent treatment on the outside of your jacket is durable but not permanent. Regular wear and tear, exposure to dirt, detergents, insect repellent etc can affect it’s strength so that the treatment needs to be re-activated to keep it as effective at maintaining the breathability of your garment as possible. This is easy – simply follow the washing instructions (preferably after you have switched to a green energy supplier) and once it is dry tumble dry it for a further 20 mins – this will re-activate the DWR treatment. TOP TIP: If you do this prior to first use you will activate the jackets DWR properly before being used outside for the first time. This maintenance will not only ensure excellent performance but will extend the life of your outdoor gear. Great news for the planet AND your wallet!
For more information Gore have put up and “Easy Care of Gore-Tex Outerwear” tutorial here.
Already having International quality assurances in place at their plants such as Bluesign and ISO 4001 Gore are committed to reducing the carbon footprint of their garments without compromising performance. Investment into dyeing processes and reducing water usage are priorities as is research into using a voluntary Higg Index on garments – a form of visual energy rating, much like those we already see on electrical items.
Finally, there is the responsibility of us as consumers to care, repair and maintain our garments. The longer we use a garment the greater we minimise its environmental impact. After all, a huge amount of energy and resources has gone into manufacturing that Gore-Tex item you are wearing, be it jacket, trousers, gloves, boots or all of the above. Simply using it a few times before sending it to rot in landfill and buying another, is a major part of our global problem.
Making sure you buy the right garment for your needs is critical and sometimes, as garment design becomes more refined there is no one item that can do the job perfectly for the multi-sports we enjoy. That, however, is where we come in. You could loose your life to a computer screen, scrolling endlessly through reviews that may or may not be relevant to your needs. OR, you could pop into any of our three shops and have a chat with our trained and active staff who will be more than happy to talk you through the choices (and the science too, if you wish) and why, more than anything else you should try them on to choose the one that is most comfortable for your body shape – because that too will make a difference to how your jacket performs in nature’s finest laboratory.
Buy well, buy once.