Brands respond to Greenpeace
30/10/2012
The report, “Chemistry for any weather”, named seven brands whose products it subjected to testing and found “noticeable concentrations” of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) or fluorotelomer alcohols, which can break down into PFOA. The textile industry is committed to eliminating PFOA from its global supply chain, and the task is close to completion, but the undertaking is not scheduled for completion until 2015.
PFOA is not an ingredient that manufacturers deliberately add in the making of their water- and oil-repellency products, but a substance that appears in small quantities as a by-product of the synthesis that takes place in the making of C8 chemicals, the traditional method of making the products but one that is being replaced by new risk-free technology. Many new ideas are based on C6 chemistry, which are still part of the PFC family.
Greenpeace has confirmed that it is calling for the elimination of the whole group of PFCs, including C6 products. It has told sportstextiles that it believes clothing brands should make use of alternative solutions based on polyurethane, silicon, waxes, paraffins and dendrimer technology instead.
Swiss alpine clothing brand Mammut is one of the companies to feature as a jacket Greenpeace included in the test contained fluorotelomer alcohols. The company has told sportstextiles it is aware of the issues and is working on finding alternatives for these chemicals. It believes consumers wearing its clothes are at no risk and that the most important part of the discussion is about what happens at manufacturing facilities where the clothes are made.
Nevertheless, Mammut pointed out that it has concerns about the ability of alternative finishes to work at the level it requires. It said: “As an absolute alpine sports brand our clients demand highest performance of our garments. At the moment there is simply no way around some of these PFCs at equal product quality. This is an issue of the whole outdoor industry and everyone is working on new solutions.”
German brand Vaude told us it agrees with the Greenpeace position. It said: “We are happy that Greenpeace has taken up the issue. For us as a medium-sized family company that has long been seriously committed to environmental protection, this campaign is a great opportunity. The market is finally headed in the right direction. Working alone, we have very limited options to change the supplier industry. We agree with Greenpeace and are totally convinced that PFCs must be strictly avoided in all production processes. We made this very clear in a joint press release with the German Association of Sporting Goods Industry BSI and its professional association Fachgruppe Outdoor at the end of September.”
A product from Kaikkialla, a brand based in South Tyrol in Italy, also featured in the report, with Greenpeace saying it contained concentrations of PFOA. In its reaction, Kaikialla said: “Greenpeace is calling for the immediate and complete banishment of PFCs. We also see the use of these substances as problematic. Unfortunately, conversion to new supply materials is not possible in the short term. For highly technical protective clothing, there is no equivalent in the market in terms of durability and functionality.”
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