controlled
by men 
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Gore-Tex® tries
to scare competitors? - 1 comments - From what we heard on the exhibition ISPO, in München, Germany, the company lawyers behind Gore-Tex® has sent a letter to the Italian company Nextec s.r.l. threaten to take them to court if they continued to use the logotype with the slogan "PTFE FREE" - "Environmental friendly". Nextec answer after discussions with advisers was 'We will be happy to meet you in court'. So, what is the background to this interesting correspondence? From what we heard the reason for the threat from Gore-Tex® was that if Nextec s.r.l. in there marketing use this logotype they indirectly means that products with fluorocarbons (PTFE) are dangerous for the environment. Nextec s.r.l. takes with their patented product Outdry® shares from Gore-Tex® with another membrane and with a new idea where the waterproof and breathable membrane is bonded directly to the external shell (read all about it at www.outdry.com). The Swedish company Klättermusen, with safety outdoor clothing and equipment for mountain's and climbing, has made a statement in their catalogue from 2007 which explain their view on the use of PTFE in clothes and other products as follows. All impregnation's currently used in outdoor equipment is made from fluorocarbons. They emit PFOA, which is a fluorocarbon group that was supposed to replace the dangerous PFOS group when it was taken out of production around the year 2000. Unfortunately, new reports show that this hormone-like substance can affect the reproductive systems of animals (e.g. man). We all have PFOA in our blood and high levels are found in polar bears and fish. PFOA is used in the production of PTFE; it is emitted from contamination in the garment's membrane during use and when the membrane is destroyed after use the PTFE is converted to PFOA and emitted. There is still a lot of scientific discussion about the toxicity of PFOA, how it is spread and what happens when it breaks down etc. This means that it will take some time for governments to take action. Luckily, Klättermusen doesn't have to wait for such decisions. We decided that there is enough evidence for us and, in line with the principle of caution, we decided to phase out all the fluorocarbons from the production as soon as possible. If you belief that PTFE is bad for the environment, next time you enter your outdoor shop, ask for a waterproof shell without PTFE (Teflon) laminates. By the way, in a fight between David and Goliath, what side will you stand on? PTFE stands for PolyTetraFluoroEthylene. If you want to dig...we recommend a article from www.womenandenvironment.org where you also will find two reports about PTFE from the Environmental Working Group (EWG). |