ptfe/pfas

PTFE

When you finish reading this article taken from Textile online magazine, you will then get an education about the ptfe film and pfas water repellant.

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“eVent Fabrics, a global producer of waterproof and breathable technologies, is offering their partner brands eVent BIO and eVent alpineST technologies. Both are made without PFAS and are compliant with regulations requiring the removal of PFAS chemicals from many consumer products. As the European Union and a growing list of U.S. states phase out PFAS, eVent is positioning itself to offer a high level of breathable waterproof performance that will comply with new regulations.

“We look at sustainability as a journey, more than a destination,” said president Chad Kelly. “We continuously pursue the most sustainable options possible while ensuring our laminate fabric technologies deliver the high level of performance our customers demand.”

eVent BIO is a bio-based membrane technology that uses sustainable materials to provide all-weather protection and performance. At the laminate technology’s core are renewable plant-based and biomass elements paired with smartly-sourced or recycled face and backer fabrics. Light, tough and flexible, eVent BIO has a reduced carbon footprint and is recyclable when it reaches the end of its lifecycle.

alpineST is a sustainable alternative to ePTFE products that provides waterproofing, breathability, and protection in harsh environments. The products are built around a fluorine-free membrane laminated to recycled face fabrics. With an initial waterproofness of 25K, alpineST maintains a water column of 20K after dozens of washes.

The new products are designed for apparel, footwear and accessory applications.”

Now that you have read the article here is the definition of PTFE.

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene, and has numerous applications because it is chemically inert. The commonly known brand name of PTFE-based composition is Teflon by Chemours, a spin-off from DuPont, which originally discovered the compound in 1938.

Now that you know what PTFE is, it is important to know the meaning of “inert”.

The meaning of INERT; Chemistry. having little or no ability to react. PTFE reacts with nothing.

PFAS is a water and oil repelling chemical that supposedly lasts forever. It has been used on fabrics for rainwear that breaks down quickly as one finds out when wearing their rain garment in the rain. In my opinion it is a waste of money to apply it to fabric in the first place.

Gore and event have used it for years on the fabrics they laminate their PTFE film to because the garments made from this fabric does not repel the rain as any wearing these so called waterproof breathable garments experience. Goretex and event are identical. The event company could not sell their product until the gore patent expired.

A company Tennier Industries did many millions of dollars with the government for over 40 years, sleeping bags, parkas, rainwear used the goretex but the owner of the company [Howie Thayer who passed away a few years ago] had a dispute with gore and he showed the event fabric and convinced Natick Labs the event was the equal of goretex which it is. In reality neither does what is claimed. This put the event on the market because the volume was hundreds of thousands of yards for the military.

event and I guess gore as well as all other companies that have been using the PFAS water repellant applied to their fabrics are scrambling to find a new chemical water repellant because the European Union wants it.

I can not sell my sleeping bags to retailers in Europe because I do not comply with their EN rating system. I have been told that you can not sell rei unless you comply with the EN rating system. It is equally in accurate as the copper manikin testing system.

That is why rei has such a return factor because people discover their bags don’t work.

I suspect the EU will have a financial consequence if companies don’t comply at some point. Imagine all of what is taking place over a product that has proven for almost 60 years not to work.

But if there are new people who will buy into the concept they will continue to feed the ignorant.