We all know that natural fabrics like wool, cotton, linen, and silk are not exactly…
Tag: DWR
Portland company Green Theme International believes they’ve created a Durable Water Repellent (DWR) finish that…
For the past couple of years, Swiss textile technology company HeiQ has worked with many…
It’s going to take a highly innovative and unique solution to completely solve the DWR environmental problem. Realizing this, Patagonia turned to the Berkeley-Haas Center for Responsible Business for help. In a student competition run throughout the 2015-2106 school year, Patagonia posed a challenge to 74 different teams, including MBAs and PhDs from some of the best schools in the country–produce an alternative durable water repellent (DWR), strong enough for torrential rains and durable for years, that does not rely on toxic chemicals known as perfluorinated compounds or PFCs.
A couple of years ago, Greenpeace took issue with the outdoor industry about their use of fluorocarbons in waterproof apparel. For years, outerwear brands have relied on a Durable Water Repellent (DWR) of a certain chemistry to bead up, then disperse, surface moisture from rainwear. The DWR used as a standard for years was a long-chain (C8) fluorocarbon-based treatment that is highly effective and extraordinarily durable.