Gore Fabrics to present Gore-Tex jackets at OutDoor show

15 Jun '18

3 min read

Courtesy: Gore tex

Gore Fabrics, the fabrics division of WL Gore & Associates, will present a range of its Gore-Tex 2-layer jackets at the OutDoor Show to be held in Friedrichshafen, Germany from June 17-20. The jackets utilise a Durable Water Repellent (DWR) free of PFCs of Environmental Concern (PFCEC) while keeping Gore´s ‘Guaranteed To Keep You Dry’ brand promise.

The outdoor jackets reflect a second big step forward in Gore Fabrics’ efforts to reduce the environmental footprint of its products. They all are manufactured with Gore laminates utilising face-textiles made from recycled materials - another key initiative within Gore Fabrics’ strategy. The jackets are manufactured by customers such as Berghaus, Haglöfs and Marmot, amongst others.

Using recycled materials helps reduce the amount of plastic waste that otherwise would end up in landfills or incineration. Gore's recycled nylon is currently sourced from pre-consumer waste while its recycled polyester stems from used PET bottles, said the company in a press release.

The performance apparel innovator has also reached a first key milestone on its journey towards the goal of eliminating PFCEC from the life cycle of the large majority of its consumer fabrics portfolio by 2020.

"The Gore-Tex jackets shown at our booth have a PFCEC free DWR treatment and face-textiles made from recycled materials. They represent our strong intent to offer environmentally improved products. The positive feedback we have received from customers and consumers on our innovations motivates us to work even harder on developing further advanced material solutions. We continue our efforts to deliver fit-for-use products that provide the best possible combination of high performance, durability and a low environmental footprint,” said Bernhard Kiehl, Gore Fabrics’ sustainability leader.

While Gore Fabrics’ current product collection for the Autumn/Winter season 2018 offers more than a dozen Gore-Tex laminates that are manufactured with face-textiles made from recycled materials, this number is expected to almost triple by A/W 2019.

Also ready to be rolled-out by customers for the A/W season 2019 is another innovation – solution-dyed face-textiles. Solution dyeing is a yarn-dyeing technology that, compared to conventional dyeing processes, saves up to 60 per cent in water usage and significantly reduces CO2 emissions. During the solution-dyeing process, dyestuffs are mixed with the nylon or polyester pellets prior to spinning into yarn. The resulting yarn is permanently, deeply coloured and ready to be woven into fabrics.

Gore Fabrics has also developed a new textile backer that combines the advantages of solution dyeing and recycled content resulting in an offering of an additional range of 18 laminates with solution dyed content to Gore-Tex brand partners from 2019 onwards.

"We seek to expand our share of solution-dyed textiles due to two compelling advantages: solution-dyeing helps reduce our environmental footprint and offers a performance benefit of superior colour-fastness to light, which will allow consumers to enjoy the brilliance of colours for longer than usual. And, as we know from our Life Cycle Assessment studies, using durable outerwear for a long time is the best thing you can do to reduce its impact on the environment," said Thomas Kiebler, Gore Fabrics' application engineer leader. (KD)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India

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