Virtually precisely a yr in the past my colleague, Josh Ross, broke what grew to become our greatest story of the yr: PFC bans are set to vary the face of all waterproof clothes. When you haven’t already learn that, I urge you to now, because it supplies helpful contextual data for what follows. Since that article was penned, the mud has settled considerably and we’re in a position to take the temperature of the {industry} as an entire. I’ll do my greatest to not rehash previous data, however there could also be some inevitable crossover, particularly when setting the scene.
What follows is an try by Josh and I, primarily off the again of testing the greatest winter biking jackets and the greatest waterproof biking jackets respectively, to see if we are able to decipher which path the way forward for waterproof clothes is heading. Was it proper to say all the pieces goes to vary, or did we maybe anticipate a better tempo of change than was affordable from what is basically an offshoot of the worldwide chemical {industry}?
Shakedry, PFCs, and the unintentional canary
I think, should you’re a eager bike owner (or maybe a eager hiker or path runner), that you simply’ll have come throughout Gore-Tex Shakedry. For many people it represented the top of efficiency, proper on the candy spot the place breathability, waterproof-ness, and packability intersect. After which, only some years after its inception, Gore introduced that it was set to retire the marvel cloth. In brief, it wasn’t value Gore’s whereas to provide; it was too expensive, too time consuming, and for too small a inhabitants of customers.
Had it not been retired then I think that no one would have observed the behind-the-scenes machinations occurring within the {industry}, however as Josh came upon, the retirement of Shakedry was one thing of an alarm name. Whereas the upcoming ban mightn’t essentially have an effect on it, it turned the highlight onto the {industry} as an entire simply lengthy sufficient for Josh to uncover the rumblings of industry-wide change. In brief, a ban on PFCs (per-fluorinated compounds), or at the least regulation closely limiting their use, is ready to upset the waterproof apple cart, notably for Gore, which depends closely on PFC’s for the creation of its waterproof membranes.
Impending regulation
On the coronary heart of all it is a world regulatory dialog round PFC’s, which is now an outdated catch-all time period, and has been changed by PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). With out diving too deep right into a chemistry lesson, these are, basically, nasty chemical substances, also known as ‘perpetually chemical substances’ because of the truth that they take kind of perpetually to interrupt down, and as such can accumulate within the biosphere. In the identical manner as CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) had been banned as propellants because of the reality they devastated the ozone layer, PFAS are additionally both set to be, or have already begun being, rather more extremely regulated relying on the place on the planet you’re.
Particular person states have already begun to roll again their use, often in the direction of ‘important use solely’ (spoiler alert, making waterproof materials isn’t essentially classed as important). Whereas the EU was set to enact a ban this yr, lobbying from massive chemical corporations (in keeping with the Guardian), has seen the proposed ban dropped.
What does this imply for us cyclists then, and the broader out of doors {industry}? Given the worldwide attain of biking manufacturers, and outside manufacturers usually, it appears possible {that a} US ban would successfully be a world ban, as manufacturers are unlikely to need to have two totally different product and manufacturing streams throughout both facet of the Atlantic, notably if one product stream solely exists as a result of an environmental and human well being going through ban didn’t land in addition to was first thought; the optics of that aren’t sensible I believe we are able to all agree.
The US ban for now seems to be set to land in January 2025, in some states slightly than federally, however basically, a technique or one other, using PFAS goes to be phased out, if not completely then at the least to restricted makes use of solely.
The issue, particularly for Gore Materials, and any corporations that rely closely on Gore-Tex merchandise, is that Gore’s membrane is expanded polytetrafluoroethylene, or ePTFE. The ‘F’ is the important thing bit right here, as this implies it falls beneath the wide-ranging umbrella of latest rules.
Gore and the PFAec quandary
Gore Materials (and Gore-Tex, which for the needs of this text are synonymous) has been the identify in waterproof expertise for a while. The model pioneered using expanded PTFE, and utilised it as a water-resistant membrane in clothes for virtually any endeavour the place water ingress is to be averted. The manufacture of PTFE used to contain using PFOA, or perfluorooctanoic acid, which did the job of making the tiny pores within the membrane, via which water vapour may escape, however via which water droplets couldn’t cross. That is the spine of any waterproof membrane, however should you want an explainer on waterproof materials we do have a information for that.
The usage of PFOA to provide PTFE has been properly and really curtailed since 2002, with the PFOA changed by a chemical known as GenX. Neither PFOA nor GenX are stuff you’d essentially need to bathe in, however the chemical {industry}’s behavior, notably within the states, of dumping chemical substances into the nation’s rivers has gone some strategy to creating the brand new laws we’re seeing now. It’s not the PTFE itself that’s the problem, it’s the manufacture of it. So well-known was the poisoning of water with PFOA by the DuPont Chemical Company that there is now a hollywood movie, Darkish Waters, starring Mark Ruffalo and Anne Hathaway detailing the authorized saga that adopted.
PTFE is to all intents and functions inert. It’s functionally insoluble, and so you possibly can chalk it up mentally as ‘just a few plastic’. This is not to decrease the affect of plastic air pollution and the potential peril of microplastics, however there is a stark distinction between a functionally inert polymer and a compound being poisonous. Whereas the out of doors {industry} strikes away from PTFE, it’s upon this central tenet that Gore leans. It makes fairly a compelling case on its web site that whereas PTFE does come beneath the PFC/PFOA umbrella, it isn’t a PFC of environmental concern (or PFCec, to make use of Gore’s notation), and subsequently isn’t one thing customers have to concern themselves with.
There are research in peer-reviewed journals akin to Built-in Environmental Evaluation and Administration that conclude that fluoropolymers, of which PTFE is one, must be classed as a definite group because of their inert nature, and subsequently not topic to the identical regulation. These research, whereas peer reviewed, have been written by staff of, contractors to, or scientists funded by each W.L Gore, and the Chemours firm, which producers fluoroproducts. Regardless of the aspersions this may increasingly forged on the conclusions I believe it’s, till confirmed in any other case, completely protected to make use of PTFE.
It’s near-ubiquitous in trendy life, and outdoors of waterproof membranes it’s present in pipe linings, the non-stick coating in your pots and pans, and even used internally in medical grafting in its expanded kind, as its porous construction permits the physique to develop via it. We can’t essentially demonise PTFE just because it has fluorine in it, any greater than we are able to demonise desk salt for holding chlorine, however as we’ll see shortly, the {industry} does appear to be transferring away from it regardless. Its disposal by burning has the potential to provide dangerous PFAS although, although that is disputed by Gore.
The DWR concern
The membrane of any waterproof piece of clothes is barely half the story; and not using a sturdy water repellent (or DWR), the face cloth will rapidly saturate, which means there isn’t any manner for water vapour to flee and you’ll really feel moist. It’s the breakdown of DWR that many customers consider as a jacket ‘shedding its waterproofness’, although any perceived leakage is nearly definitely simply condensation slightly than ingress; if the membrane is unbroken, water gained’t get in, but when the face cloth is saturated, vapour will not get out.
DWR remedies have been PFC based mostly for a while, and so that is one other large shift for the {industry}. The issue is, sadly, that the PFC-free replacements aren’t pretty much as good; they don’t final as lengthy, and so the jackets want reproofing earlier and extra continuously. Anecdotally that is one thing I’ve observed in my waterproof jacket testing, however that’s removed from a scientific conclusion. Wash-in remedies like Nikwax TX-Direct are PFC free, however you’ll most likely discover should you’ve ever reproofed a jacket at residence that the brand new DWR doesn’t final in addition to the manufacturing facility end.
The efficiency of the DWR is as integral to the efficiency of the product because the membrane in some ways, and Gore for now appears reluctant to shift away from a PFC based mostly therapy, once more citing that its DWR remedies are, or at the least can be free from PFCs of environmental concern.
I’m on board for now with the notion that PTFE is protected and inert; its use in medical procedures is an enormous tick within the field for me, although it is key to keep in mind that even the medical {industry} is not free from regulatory snafus. What I discover more durable to sq. away from a typical sense perspective is the declare that PFC-containing DWRs are additionally free from environmental concern. These are floor remedies that bodily wash off into the atmosphere with use in addition to straight coming into contact with our our bodies, and so to my thoughts these must be topic to extra speedy and extra stringent regulation than the membranes themselves.
Whereas the {industry} does appear sluggish to maneuver, there are definitely an increasing number of merchandise being marketed with “PFC-Free DWR”. Once more, that is anecdotal, however it does appear that, mirroring what is happening with the membranes themselves, that DWR remedies will shift to be PFC-free whatever the regulatory framework.
New membrane expertise
Nature abhors a vacuum, and so does {industry}. The excessive stage narrative does appear to be shifting, and the shrinking use of ePTFE does appear to be threatening Gore’s spot as high canine within the waterproof house, at the least within the biking world. For a very long time and for a lot of manufacturers, a two-stream providing was utilised, with Gore-Tex ePTFE clothes occupying the highest tier, and expanded polyurethane (ePU), sitting on the ladder one rung beneath. Lots of the myriad names that you simply’ll possible have glanced at in shops are ePU based mostly membranes… Dryvent, Hyvent, eVent, and, maybe most pertinently, Pertex.
Expanded polyurethane, or a hybrid of polyurethane and polyethylene (which I’m lumping collectively for now) is having a little bit of a run on issues in the mean time, and doing nearly all of the leg work to fill the receding void. Whereas the chemical make-up could also be totally different, and critically free from the letter F, the idea when it comes to how the membrane works is equivalent; it is merely a membrane with a load of small holes.
Having labored in an outside store for some time I at all times had this assumption that PU membranes had been second charge. They had been, in any case, what manufacturers used on their funds jackets. Provided that now each my favorite highway and gravel jackets each use ePU over ePTFE I believe it’s honest to say that, whereas DWR remedies have some catching as much as do, using ePU as a water-resistant membrane is ready to rival ePTFE. What’s extraordinarily telling is that The North Face has switched to utilizing a proprietary extruded ePU membrane in its high quality mountaineering jackets, over ePTFE.
ePU appears to be taking on the lion’s share of the market now, at the least within the biking house. Handily an ePU membrane really has rather a lot larger energy to weight ratio than ePTFE, and so jackets could be made lighter even than Shakedry choices. The POC Supreme and the brand new Rab Cinder Phantom are nice examples of simply how pared again an efficient waterproof could be.
Shakedry was so properly liked as a result of it by no means wanted a DWR coating; the waterproof membrane was on the floor, and because it was so hydrophobic water merely beaded off. Changing this has proved extra difficult, and nothing has but cemented its place as post-ePTFE inheritor to the Shakedry throne. The almost definitely candidate for now has come within the type of a polypropylene based mostly membrane utilized by Helly Hansen, courtesy of Trenchant Textiles. It’s Odin Infinity insulated shell jacket makes use of “Lifa Infinity Professional”, which seems to utilise a naturally hydrophobic polypropylene outer cloth in addition to a polypropylene membrane, leading to a drastic discount within the want for DWR therapy (if in any respect, although I haven’t absolutely bought to the underside of this).
The Rapha case research
Rapha presents an fascinating case research for the market as an entire. On the earth of biking it stands kind of alone now in its continued use of Gore-Tex, except for Gorewear, and Castelli/Sportful with their use of Gore-Tex Infinium. Why not shift to different membranes? Properly, I put that to Rapha’s sustainability supervisor, Adam Gardiner.
The takeaway information is that Rapha is sticking with Gore, however can be transitioning to Gore’s new ePE (a mix of expanded polyethylene and polyurethane) membrane starting in A/W 2024.
I additionally requested what Rapha’s stance was relating to Gore’s use of PFCec-free, slightly than really PFC-free applied sciences. The reply was fairly unequivocal; the US market is so key for the model, that the ban on PFC merchandise (which is able to embody PTFE and PFC-based DWR) in only a handful of states successfully constitutes a world ban, so it does seem that Gore can be able to supply correctly PFC-free DWR coatings by the point US regulation lands in 2025.
It isn’t only a markets drawback although, and to recommend it’s could be to do a disservice to Rapha, which has carried out an inside mandate to be PFC free by 2025, mirroring others like Pertex on this regard.
One ultimate level of pertinence from our chat regarded the problem of the model’s persevering with inventory of PTFE-based jackets sooner or later. With the rollout of latest merchandise, there’ll inevitably be a transitional interval the place each product streams will exist in tandem, and Gardiner is sort of proper to level out that the most effective factor to do with a PTFE-based jacket that has already been produced is to make use of it for so long as attainable earlier than shopping for one thing new. As we’ve lined earlier, ePTFE is inert, and so shopping for a brand new PU-based jacket to switch a PTFE one which has loads of life left is a waste of beneficial sources. I am not going to cease utilizing the Rapha Discover Gore-Tex Jacket for instance, simply due to its PTFE content material.
Likewise, selecting a PTFE jacket over a PU one if you end up making a purchase order shouldn’t essentially be a trigger for any inside turmoil; the jacket already exists, and the tech is being phased out anyway so your buy isn’t prolonging the lifetime of an {industry}.
The sustainability of textiles is a much more huge ranging matter than I’ve the house to enter right here sadly, and may contact on lifespans, sturdiness, carbon footprint of manufacturing, chemical utilization, water utilization, recyclability, and using nanomaterials… One other piece, one other time.
The breathability query
One extra upside to the change, in my expertise, is that the shift away from PTFE to different membranes has allowed more room for a dialog in regards to the waterproof/breathability trade-off. Typically, the extra breathable a garment, the much less waterproof it will be, proper the best way from excessive alpine hardshells to one thing like a Castelli Perfetto softshell on the two extremes.
It’s my suspicion that buyers noticed the Gore-Tex emblem, with its “Assured to maintain you dry” promise, and didn’t a lot think about the stats (I’m basing this alone experiences to some extent right here). As we’ll see, there at the moment are an awesome array of membrane choices, every falling someplace on the spectrum. Extra shopper selection, and higher shopper schooling can solely be a very good factor in my eyes.
One ultimate factor to contemplate although is the manufacturing of ePU membranes (and another varieties of polymers, in broader phrases). Whereas ePU doesn’t require PFAS, that doesn’t imply it’s out of the blue some eco-friendly materials. Higher doesn’t essentially imply excellent, and if a chemical firm decides to launch a tonne of diisocyanates right into a river, it’s nonetheless dangerous information for the atmosphere.
When you’ve already bought a ePTFE jacket, the most effective factor you are able to do is preserve utilizing it.
What are manufacturers leaning in the direction of?
It’s value noting at this level that Gore isn’t putting all its eggs within the ePTFE basket, and is itself engaged on creating ePU membranes. It states that its ePU membranes can be accessible in its merchandise for winter 2022, so they’re both on the market and never but within the biking house, or there may be going to be a sluggish, refined shift from ePTFE to ePU beneath the identical product ranges. In any case, Gore-Tex Lively for instance is a product identify, it doesn’t essentially imply it has to stay ePTFE perpetually, however that is hypothesis in the interim.
From my standpoint, in my capability as some man who assessments waterproof jackets, I’m seeing Pertex Defend greater than anything in new jackets coming to market. It’s a PU membrane that’s been utilised by the out of doors {industry} for years, however now Albion, Maap, Rab, Velocio, and Pas Regular Studios have used it to nice impact for on-bike safety.
To function a useful reference, do you have to want to inform your selections in future, I’ve put collectively a desk of distinguished biking clothes manufacturers and the waterproofing tech they use. I’ll guarantee it stays up to date as and when new data turns into accessible.
Data right as of: December fifth 2023
- Albion: Makes use of Pertex Defend in all of its waterproof clothes, and makes use of a PFC-Free DWR.
- Altura: Makes use of PU membranes, and it doesn’t publish that it makes use of PFC-free DWR remedies so it’s a comparatively protected assumption that for now it does use PFCs.
- Assos: Makes use of its personal Schloss Tex, an ePTFE based mostly system that utilises a PFC-based DWR.
- Castelli: Castelli now not makes hardshell jackets, however makes use of Gore’s Gore-Tex Infinium cloth in its softshells, which utilise what Gore calls PFCec-free DWR, or free from PFCs of environmental concern.
- dhb: dhb makes use of PU membranes, and it doesn’t publish that it makes use of PFC-free DWR remedies so it’s a comparatively protected assumption that for now it does use PFCs.
- Endura: Endura’s Exoshell membranes are PU based mostly, and from what I could make out it utilises PFC-free DWR remedies.
- Maap: Maap makes use of Pertex (PU) and Sympatex (a polyester based mostly membrane). Its merchandise are bluesign authorized although, and whereas it doesn’t point out PFC-free DWR, Bluesign doesn’t approve using PFC/PFAS.
- Pas Regular Studios: PNS makes use of a mixture of Pertex Defend (ePU) and Polartec Energy Defend (bio-based ePU), each utilizing a Bluesign authorized DWR therapy, which I’m assuming means it’s PFC-free. It’s Schoeller softshell materials are additionally DWR handled, however this seems to be a PFC-based system for now.
- Pearl Izumi: Pearl Izumi makes use of both non-branded PU membranes, or Polartec Neoshell (a softshell PU possibility), each with PFC-free DWR.
- POC: Makes use of PU membranes on its jackets and is within the technique of attempting bio-based PU membranes on a few of its insulated merchandise. It additionally makes use of PFC-free DWR remedies, besides on the present batch of Haven jackets, which can be changed with a PFC-free system for the subsequent spherical of manufacturing.
- Rapha: Makes use of Gore-Tex ePTFE programs in its excessive finish waterproof merchandise, and proprietary membranes in its decrease tier ranges just like the Core vary. It’s assumed these are PU membranes, however it isn’t clear. It’s additionally not clear what DWR system it makes use of, however it is not claimed to be PFC-free. Transitioning to Gore’s ePE membranes in A/W2024 which is able to contain a PFC-free DWR too.
- Santini: Makes use of Polartec Neoshell (PU) membranes, however no data on the DWR is publicly accessible, in order with others it’s a case of assuming PFC-based except said in any other case.
- Sportful: Like Castelli, Sportful makes use of Gore’s Gore-Tex Infinium cloth in its softshells, which utilise what Gore calls PFCec-free DWR, or free from PFCs of environmental concern. It does additionally use PU membranes in different clothes too, in contrast to Castelli, and seems to make use of a typical PFC-based DWR.
- Velocio: Velocio makes use of eVent (ePTFE) with a PFC DWR in some merchandise, and Pertex (ePU) with a PFC-free DWR. Given the ban on PFCs within the US it’s suspected that the model will change to Pertex completely.
Conclusions
What can we conclude, if something? Properly, broadly talking whether or not or not the EU ban on PFAS really lands, it appears there is a shift away from ePTFE and PFC based mostly DWR remedies anyway.
PTFE stays protected to put on; except one thing drastic involves gentle, the most effective factor you are able to do with an ePTFE based mostly piece of clothes is to proceed to make use of it, slightly than bin it and switch it into plastic waste.
PFC-free DWR remedies are, for now, inferior, however given sufficient time I’ve each religion they’ll catch up; that’s simply progress. Additionally keep in mind that any inexperienced advertising and marketing round polyurethane must be taken with a pinch of salt – It’s nonetheless a plastic that requires using nasty chemical substances to fabricate. Essentially the most environmentally pleasant plan of action is to make use of your present waterproof for so long as attainable.
Lastly, this actually opens the door for customers to assume extra critically in regards to the utility of the merchandise they buy. As soon as PTFE was king, however as we’ve seen in testing, ePU programs can carry out on the highest stage. Now they’re on a extra equal footing because the steadiness of energy shifts, it is attainable to select an ePU possibility that fits your wants, slightly than merely choosing ePTFE as a result of its bought the identify model draw.