GORE TEX jackets could be toxic for you and the environment
We’ve all seen GORE TEX somewhere. Whether it be on a brand new pair of waterproof NIKE running shoes or this year’s latest take on the classic Arc’teryx shell jacket, GORE TEX has made its mark on the outdoor and fashion industry as the leading brand for high quality material.
- GORE TEX membranes strength and durability a what drives people to pay +$600 per jacket in todays market
Essentially, it a breathable fabric membrane that is also water and wind proof made from heated PTFE. It’s durability and breathability makes it perfect for hard activities in the outdoors like rock climbing skiing and hiking.
What is the problem?
GORE TEX roots come from partnering with outdoor apparel companies, who have long voiced the importance of taking care of the planet and focusing on sustainability. So it’s ironic that one of the most important materials in the space is also one of the most toxic and pollutant.
The problem comes in the very design of GORE TEX and the process of making it. As a material, GORE TEX is safe and non-toxic to wear. However, the process of making it is anything but.
- GORE TEX requires intensive chemical processes to make? Is there a place for such a material in todays sustainability market?
The GORE-TEX recipe is complex and would need a full video to break down. The only thing you need to know is that the gasses released during the process have been known to cause an illness known as “Polymer Fume Fever” aka “Teflon Flu “which has been known to affect clothing factory workers after extended periods of time.
This has been a problem for a number of years, and companies like GORE-TEX who work with these plastics and polymers have been exposed to their fair share of legal disputes. Some illnesses caused by the PFAs that GORE TEX used include Testicular cancer, Kidney cancer and liver damage (The Guardian 2016).
A secondary problem comes in the very durability that makes GORE TEX products attractive. The chemicals final product are extremely hard to break down, because the purpose of the chemicals is to be extremely resistant to environmental degradation. So essentially, we, through our demand for products and GORE TEX, have created products that can essentially never fully biodegrade (Penny 2021).
What is the brand doing about it?
After the legal issues that GORE TEX faced in the early 2000s, they discontinued the use of numerous chemicals that were said to be causing serious physical and environmental harm (GORE TEX 2014). They also examined their focuses on sustainability, focusing on three guiding principles for the future.
These are: “Sound Science” fact based knowledge to guide the right decisions, “Transparency”, aimed at building trust with consumers and partners to understand how to work better and finally “Cooperation”. GORE TEX is committed to working with its partners, namely NIKE, Arc’teryx and Patagonia to name a few to realise opportunities for improvement within the value chain (GORE TEX 2022). The company has also set specific targets for the UN sustainability goals they want to target and made an effort to take active annual reporting on their sustainability efforts.
Closing remarks
GORE TEX is responsible for many great products, but they are also responsible for a for a lot of the problems and so are we. Despite the reveal of the issues caused by making chemically intensive products, GORE-TEX has switched to new materials whose affects aren’t fully known yet. Many of us will buy these updated products without asking the question “Is this safe?”
- The Arc'teryx beta AR is favourite pick of mine for a future jacket. Despite that, I find myself questioning whether it is appropriate to continue supporting such a material.
Let’s learn from the mistakes of the past and make sure that we ask the right questions about a product, no matter how stylish or high performance it might be.
Sources:
GORE TEX. (2022). Sustainability-Our Responsibility. Available: https://www.gore-tex.com/sustainability/our-responsibility . Last accessed March 7th 2022.
The Guardian. (2016). Toxic Chemicals Found in almost all outdoor gear. Available: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jan/25/toxic-chemicals-found-in-most-outdoor-gear . Last accessed March 7th 2022 |
Penny,D. (2021). Is your beloved outdoor gear bad for the planet?. Available: https://www.gq.com/story/outdoor-gear-pfas-study . Last accessed March 7th 2021.
GORE TEX. (2014). Elimination of PFOAs from raw materials. Available: https://www.gore-tex.com/pressroom/press-release/responsibility-sustainability/gore-completes-elimination-of-pfoa-from-raw-material-of-its-functional-fabrics . Last accessed March 7th 2022.
Hi Spencer, this blog post really made me think! This was the first encounter I have had with GORETEX in a negative light and I really appreciate the new perspective. I think one of the main questions in my mind surrounds your point on the biodegradability of these products. I don't have an answer and I would love to look into the inputs further, but I wonder if it is more sustainable to have one very durable jacket last an entire lifetime, but is not biodegradable, or to have many jackets that are biodegradable but use more materials to create? I really appreciate your post for bringing forth this question in my mind!
ReplyDeleteGreat post spencer! Having both completed the design methods for business innovation course we both discovered how durable and versatile Gore-tex can be and have been pretty obsessed since. I appreciate that you recognise that Gore-tex have stopped using hazardous chemicals such as PFA's, however from my understanding this means scientists at Gore-tex have found a new chemical composition to utilise which begs the question of how safe is this new solution?
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