
Performance fabrics specialist WL Gore & Associates says the consumer business of its fabrics division will be introducing the use of expanded Polyethylene (ePE) as a new complementary material platform to serve as the basis for its membrane technologies.
The new membrane technology is for use in apparel and footwear and will appear in Gore-Tex brand consumer products beginning in the autumn/winter 2022 season.
Products featuring Gore’s new ePE membrane will be introduced in a selection of consumer-end uses including general outdoor and lifestyle garments, lifestyle footwear and snow sports gloves from select customers including (but not limited to) Adidas, Arc’teryx, Dakine, Patagonia, Reusch, Salomon, and Ziener.
Gore says the announcement of its new ePE membrane reaffirms the company’s ongoing commitment to responsible performance.
“Gore applied their decades of scientific knowledge and polymer expertise to discover the combination of the right materials and processes that manipulate ePE into a strong microporous material,” it adds.
Earlier this year, Gore highlighted its key sustainability achievements from 2020 and outlined how its fabrics division plans to leverage its new sustainability framework by using sound science, transparency and cooperation with others to provide innovative solutions to both its customers and the industry.

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By GlobalDataThe fabric division’s Responsibility Update 2020 outlines how within its new sustainability framework, the segment will focus on four key strategic areas: reducing its carbon emissions, managing its chemical footprint, ensuring most efficient use of resources, and further promoting social compliance.