What are PFC’s and How are They Dangerous?🤔 | W22

Hi there, This week, we will dive into PFA and PFC Free Apparel.   OK, so there is a lot in the news recently about PFA and PFC free gear. First, let's define what they are.   PFCs, PFAS, PFOS and PFOAs are different ways of conveying the same message. These acronyms refer to fluorinated chemicals with slightly different molecular structures and fairly similar functions. In the apparel industry, these acronyms are typically used interchangeably. The EPA mostly refers to PFA's.   For decades now, the coatings used in apparel to improve water-repellency have relied on these per- or polyfluorinated chemicals, which contain fluorine and are most often referred to by their acronyms: PFCs, PFOAs, or PFAS. This class of forever chemicals accumulates in air, water, food, even our bodies, and they raise serious health concerns, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

What EPA Has Learned So Far PFAS are widely used, long lasting chemicals, components of which break down very slowly over time. Because of their widespread use and their persistence in the environment, many PFAS are found in the blood of people and animals all over the world and are present at low levels in a variety of food products and in the environment. PFAS are found in water, air, fish, and soil at locations across the nation and the globe. Scientific studies have shown that exposure to some PFAS in the environment may be linked to harmful health effects in humans and animals. There are thousands of PFAS chemicals, and they are found in many different consumer, commercial, and industrial products. This makes it challenging to study and assess the potential human health and environmental risks. Learn more about our current understanding of PFAS.  Read more >>>

What They Don't Fully Understand Yet EPA's researchers and partners across the country are working hard to answer critical questions about PFAS: How to better and more efficiently detect and measure PFAS in our air, water, soil, and fish and wildlife How much people are exposed to PFAS How harmful PFAS are to people and the environment How to remove PFAS from drinking water How to manage and dispose of PFAS This information will help EPA and state, local, and tribal partners make more informed decisions on how best to protect human health and the environment. So, the jury is out. GORE-TEX is one of many brands that uses PFA's in outdoors gear. But there are many. There has been a lot of research into these chemicals lately and some more findings here. This subject is of particular interest to us here at CRUA, as we're currently designing a jacket that we're hoping can be PFA free, breathable and waterproof.  Join in the conversation >>>

What Does the Future Hold? It's brilliant to see some of the outdoors giants looking for alternatives.    Patagonia has said: "We're converting all of our durable water-repellent membranes and finishes to non-fluorinated alternatives by 2025." And GORE-TEX has said: "The company intends to replace ePTFE membrane with expanded polyethylene membrane by 2025 in consumer fabrics. The new material, while intended to perform comparably to the existing ePTFE material, will apparently cost more, and require more frequent washing." Most are looking for alternatives. Rather than making additional persistent chemicals, manufacturers need to design molecules with a built-in ability to degrade after their use. This idea is one of the decades-old principles of green chemistry, and is well underway. The more difficult part is finding a breathable alternative that allows sweat to evaporate as well, while remaining waterproof. And that's what's facing GORE-TEX, so let's watch this space.    Some brands have claimed to be PFA free but when products were tested, it wasn't true. So here is a super resource re PFA's, with a section for outer gear. Learn more >>> To sum up, there are still lots of unknown, but the evidence is there that these chemicals should be avoided if possible. Lots of brands and materials manufacturers are now trying to innovate around this, either by use of different raw materials, or by completely different design techniques, for example PARAMO. And this is good. We have to be more conscious about what we use in the production of our gear, and its long term effect on nature, and on the users. This is paramount. So it's brilliant to see. We're currently designing our first garment - a jacket, and this is one of the pillars. You can follow along here to see how we progress.  Join us >>>   Until next time, thanks for reading. And please spread the word…

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