Gore投資1,500萬美元研發耐久性潑水技術 | Gore-Tex company seeks alternative water repellent materials

Gore投資1,500萬美元研發耐久性潑水技術

GORE-TEX製造商WL Gore & Associates投資超過1,500萬美元，在未來五年內，研發可替代的耐久性潑水處理(Durable water repellent，簡稱DWR)。

Gore表示，我們的目標是利用一項改善環境狀況來提供新的解決方案，同時提供耐久及舒適性達到或超過目前DWR的技術水準。

全氟化合物(全氟化碳)通常用在戶外產業和功能性布料，作為改善紡織品在潑水、防油和易去污性能的處理，經常被稱為耐久性潑水處理。

然而，關於PFCs在DWR處理上的疑慮，Gore已評估像是碳氫化合物或蠟基可成為替代氟化聚合物和非氟化聚合物二種化學物質在DWR耐久性潑水處理解決方案的新範疇。

測試結果發現，目前所用的非氟化耐水潑水處理在正常戶外使用情況下，其防水耐久性明顯比Gore所使用的潑水耐久性低，雖然說是具有改善環境的特性。

全球消費成衣業務的負責人John Cusick表示：“我們作為一個技術領先的公司，承諾尋找超越目前的可替代塗層技術的解決方案”。

“為了減少本公司產品的環境碳足跡，以及扮演更具負責任戶外產業的典範，我們正全力探索新的方法，可以以非傳統方式提供必要的功能”。

新聞來源：台灣紡拓會

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Gore-Tex company seeks alternative water repellent materials

Outdoor clothing brand, WL Gore & Associates, is investing $15m in research to find alternative durable water repellent (DWR) materials.

The company aims to find alternatives to the short-chain perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs), currently used in its fabrics.
According to Bernhard Kiehl, leader of Gore Fabric's sustainability programme, both fluorinated and non-fluorinated materials will be considered in its new DWR initiative.

Gore, the manufacturer of Gore-Tex(R) fabric, has been exploring alternative DWR treatments since 2013, amid concerns about PFCs.

Long-chain PFCs are the subject of an EPA action plan and have been voluntarily phased out by many companies. However, debate continues over the environmental and human health effects of short-chain PFC alternatives.

US-based NGO, the Environmental Working Group (EWG), said that “EPA records contain disturbing indications that some of the new [short-chain] PFCs are as hazardous as their predecessors.”

However, Mr Kiehl said: “We disagree with claims that short-chain PFCs are harmful", provided they are used "responsibly".
He noted that Gore's materials are not significant sources of PFCs in the environment and that the company goes “to great lengths” to avoid their emissions, through the use of environmental control methods.

The company claims to have been among the first, in the outdoor industry, to completely eliminate perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) - a long-chain PFC - from raw materials used in the manufacturing process.

However, non-fluorinated polymer solutions, including hydrocarbon and wax-based technologies, have not yet met the company's durability standards, it says.

“During our tests, the non-fluorinated DWR treatment completely failed after only a short time of field use,” said John P Cusick, Gore's global business leader of consumer garments.

Several major fashion brands – including Adidas, Puma and H&M – have pledged to phase out PFCs.

However, outdoor brands have been “noticeably absent” in committing to initiatives like the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC), according to the EWG.

The Greenpeace Detox campaign has called on textile companies to “urgently phase out any use and discharge” of PFCs, due to their persistence, bio-accumulation and toxicity.

According to the EWG, textiles account for half of US consumption of PFCs. The compounds are also used in non-stick cookware, food packaging, and in a variety of industries for their friction-reducing properties.

Original Article: Chemical Watch