The greatest environmental impact in a lifecycle of personal protective equipment occurs during production and distribution. Extending the longevity, or useful life, of a product is therefore the single most influential factor to improve its environmental impact. This is especially true if a product can be repaired and re-used again. Following this spirit, Wenaas, an international supplier of workwear solutions from Norway, together with GORE-TEX Professional, developed a smart repair kit for arc rated GORE-TEX PYRAD® personal protective equipment (PPE) to help their customers prolong the garments’ product life.

Electrical workers often need to move through difficult, thorny terrain to locate a fault on the power network and climb high poles. During these activities their PPE can get stuck behind something sharp or spines, which, despite the robustness of the material, could result in a puncture or small tear of the outer fabric. While the garment overall would still be fit for use, a tiny puncture could result in a potentially dangerous situation for the wearer in case of an electric arc. By applying the patch, propagation of the tear is avoided, and garment lifetime extended.

“Norwegian electrical utility workers came to us with a problem: some of their employees had small punctures in their Wenaas GORE-TEX PYRAD® garment from walking through dense forest before reaching their service location”, illustrates Kristin Lien, product developer at Wenaas. “Together with Gore we concluded that it makes financially and environmentally no sense to replace the entire garment. GORE-TEX PYRAD® garments are top of line. Our collective goal is to let customers keep their garments as long as possible before having to replace them. Therefore, we developed the repair kit – a win-win solution: cost-effective as well as a very sustainable solution.”

Repair Kit for the garment

The repair kit consists of four GORE-TEX PYRAD® fabric patches: two round patches (diameter 7,6 cm) and two square patches (10 x 5 cm). These allow for the repair of small and medium-sized punctures or tears of the fabric – for larger damages two or more patches can be combined. The kit comes in two color versions: fluorescent yellow and navy blue. No special skills are involved to repair the garment: the patches have glue on the backside – a short instruction video shows that all that’s needed is a hairdryer and / or an iron to permanently attach the patch. After repair the risk of harmful incidents is avoided by using a protection patch made of GORE-TEX PYRAD® arc-protective materials and can be washed as usual. And in the rare case the fabric is damaged in the exact same place again, a new patch can even be applied over the previous patch. “The feedback from our customers is very positive”, concludes Lien, “the repair kit absolutely solved their problem.”

Jonas Andersson, sales Associate at GORE-TEX Professional says: “Our sustainability approach is about providing exceptional long-lasting products while at the same time reducing the environmental footprint. The idea of the repair patch is to avoid further tear propagation which could result in losing the required protection. And through these patches, users can contribute to our effort and do something meaningful.”

For further product information about the repair kit, visit https://www.wenaas.com/en/products/rep-set-goretex-pyrad-flouresent-yellow-0-10930-19819-32

About arc rated GORE-TEX PYRAD® technology

Arc rated GORE-TEX PYRAD® garments are durably waterproof and reliably protect electrical workers against the thermal hazards of an electric arc. They stay lightweight and comfortable even when wet. Up to 45% lighter when wet or dry than other products of their protective class, arc rated GORE-TEX PYRAD® garments feel less bulky to wear leading to more wearer acceptance. The garments provide maximum comfort with the highest protection level, so electrical workers remain safe – no matter the challenge, and no matter the weather.

About Wenaas

For more than 80 years, Wenaas has been making workwear and personal protective equipment for women and men in a variety of sectors, with the aim of making their working day securer and more comfortable. We know that our products can mean the difference between life and death, and we never compromise in our product development. We have made a film that highlights a broad range of protective equipment and work clothes in use in different sectors where the right clothing is essential for a good, safe working day. https://www.wenaas.com/en/

The 2021 Responsibility Update highlights the development of expanded polyethylene (ePE) as one key example of how Gore’s Fabrics Division is using its vast expertise to drive environmentally improved material innovations. Gore’s new complementary material platform will serve as the basis for membrane technologies in its consumer business.

Another top story featured within the 2021 Responsibility Update: GORE-TEX Professional launched EXTRAGUARD, an innovative upper technology with a lower environmental footprint for a new class of safety footwear.

Ross MacLaine, Sustainability Leader of the Gore Fabrics Division, said: “I am pleased to see that in 2021, despite many challenges, we made substantial progress in many areas. Our sustainability framework is now fully integrated into both our consumer and professional GORE-TEX businesses, providing strategic guidance on key initiatives. In our Responsibility Update this year, we have taken the opportunity to share thoughts from a wide number of our experts to highlight the depth of knowledge we bring to this area. We will keep working hard on all the commitments – made within our sustainability strategy – to protect people and planet while prolonging the lifetime of our products and the well-being of their users.”

Additional highlights from Gore’s sustainability journey last year include:

• Gore Fabrics Division conducted another full assessment of its total carbon footprint and joined forces with its supply chain partners to reduce carbon emission of the raw materials.
• Gore Fabrics Division obtained Global Recycled Standard (GRS) certification for its fabric plants in Putzbrunn (Germany) and Shenzhen (China).
• Gore Fabrics Division further increased transparency in its performance and efforts to reduce the environmental impacts of its fabric plants via the Higg Facility Environmental Module (FEM). While the manufacturing sites in Shenzhen and Elk Mills (USA) maintained their performance levels, the Putzbrunn plant significantly exceed its total environmental score.
• Gore Fabrics Division also continued to verify social compliance at its manufacturing sites via the Higg Facility Social & Labor Module (FSLM).

“These initiatives and achievements demonstrate that in 2021 the Gore Fabrics Division continued to make a difference to our planet and the people living on it. Using decades of scientific knowledge, intensive research & development, as well as a strict testing regime, we remain committed to drive environmentally improved material innovations that deliver an optimized combination of high performance with a lower environmental footprint”, concludes Ross MacLaine

Gore revolutionized the outerwear industry with waterproof, breathable GORE-TEX Fabric more than 40 years ago and remains a leading innovator of performance apparel. Gore fabrics products provide comfort and protection in challenging environments and in everyday life, enabling wearers to safely and confidently achieve and experience more. From hiking in downpours to defence operations and fighting fires, Gore’s deep understanding of consumer and industry needs drives development of products with meaningful performance advantages. For more information, visit www.gore-tex.com and www.goretexprofessional.com.

Sally Ryder Taylor 
GORE-TEX Professional Press Office UK 
Mob: 07793815026 
Email: sally@rusecomm.co.uk 
 

The Gore Fabrics Division (Gore) announced today the achievement of a major milestone in its continuous efforts to reduce the environmental footprint whilst providing high performance products. Gore reached full Global Recycled Standard (GRS) certification of its manufacturing sites in Shenzhen (China) and Putzbrunn (Germany). GRS is an international, voluntary, full product standard that sets requirements for third-party certification of recycled content, social and environmental practices, chemical restrictions, and chain of custody (CoC). CoC requires each stage of production to be certified, beginning at the recycling stage, and ending at the last seller in the final business-to-business transaction. Material collection and material concentration sites are subject to self-declaration, document collection, and on-site visits.

Originally the GRS was developed by Control Union Certifications in 2008 and ownership was passed to Textile Exchange in 2011. The GRS is intended for use with any product that contains at least 20% GRS certified recycled material ; final products carrying the GRS logo must contain at least 50% GRS certified recycled material..The main goal of the GRS is to increase use of recycled materials in products and reduce or eliminate the harm to people and the environment caused by its production.

“Transparency guides the way the Gore Fabric Division is operating and building trust with buyers, customer, end-users, and partners. Therefore, we decided to become certified according to the Global Recycled Standard to ensure traceability of recycled content used in our products”, says Thomas Kiebler, Global Application Engineer Leader, W. L. Gore & Associates. “This success was only possible because of huge efforts undertaken by our manufacturing sites and beyond. We conducted pre-audits and implemented the environmental, social and chemical requirements of the standard which have not been covered yet by our existing certifications e.g., bluesign®, ISO 14001.”

Gore adapted its production and warehouse set-up which allows to separate GRS from non-GRS certified goods as required by the standard. Besides this – as Gore is also using external warehouses for shipping laminates to its licenced partners and buyers – the company worked with its warehouse partners to integrate them into the GRS system.

“After having successfully obtained the GRS certification, we are now embedding the processes and requirements into our existing management system to ensure we maintain the certification and will continuously improve our performance”, says Kiebler.

Mid of 2022, Gore plans to introduce GRS certified laminates to its customers on the consumer business side but also in the GORE-TEX Professional workwear business. This will require adaptations of the IT systems to allow Gore issuing product-related certifications, so called “transaction certificates”, to customers and buyers.

“We will introduce a more holistic portfolio management for our GRS certified laminates so that we can continuously expand our offering to customers and buyers. We will initially start with a small number of laminates of our Gore Fabrics portfolio, but we will work with our suppliers and manufacturing sites to certify all laminates with recycled textiles according to GRS in the future”, states Kiebler.

GORE-TEX Professional Press Office UK

Sally@rusecomm.co.uk

Tel. 07793815026

W. L. Gore W. L. Gore & Associates (Gore) has published its 2020 Responsibility Update for the Fabrics Division. The Responsibility Update 2020 shares details on how the Division plans to leverage the newly introduced sustainability framework by using sound science, transparency, and cooperation with others to provide innovative solutions to both its customers and the industry.

In addition, the update includes an interview with the leaders of the Consumer Oriented Fabrics (COF) and Technical Oriented Fabrics (TOF) businesses who share how they plan to implement the new framework and use it to help strengthen the importance of sustainability to the Gore Fabrics Division.

Highlights of the Gore Fabrics Responsibility Update 2020:

• Setting of new absolute carbon-reduction goals established to support achieving climate neutrality by 2050 and help contribute to the global effort toward mitigating climate change.
• The culmination of a three-year effort to triple the number of GORE-TEX laminates (to more than 150) that use textiles with recycled content and solution dyed-yarn.
• Sharing of environmental footprint data of the GORE-TEX consumer garments laminates through the Higg Materials Sustainability Index (MSI), helping our customers to make informed decisions.
• Use of the Higg Facility Tools, implemented to increase transparency around environmental and social impacts at Gore Fabrics manufacturing sites.
• The signing of the Manifesto of the international initiative “S.O.S. SOIL – Save Organics in Soil” by the Solid Waste Treatment Team of the TOF business, with a goal to encourage climate-proof soil management practices.

Using decades of scientific knowledge, R&D and testing, the Gore Fabrics Division will continue to drive environmentally improved material innovations that deliver an optimized combination of high performance with a low environmental footprint.

Ross MacLaine, the new Sustainability Leader of Gore´s Fabrics Division, stated: “I am pleased to see that in 2020, despite all of the challenges, we kept making substantial progress in many areas of our sustainability journey. I am particularly proud of our carbon goals and our new sustainability framework. And I promise that we will continue to work hard on all the commitments we made within our evolved sustainability strategy, protecting people and planet whilst prolonging product lifetime and the well-being of users”

Gore revolutionized the outerwear industry with waterproof, breathable GORE-TEX Fabric more than 40 years ago and remains a leading innovator of performance apparel. Gore fabrics products provide comfort and protection in challenging environments and in everyday life, enabling wearers to safely and confidently achieve and experience more. From hiking in downpours to defense operations and fighting fires, Gore’s deep understanding of consumer and industry needs drives development of products with meaningful performance advantages. For more information, visit goretexprofessional.com.