Read the full article by Allison Williams (Seattle Met).
“If flannel is Seattle’s signature style, a rain jacket is our utilitarian necessity. Here, people own multiple waterproof top layers, maybe rain pants as well. So what happens when Gore-Tex and all the other waterproofing materials become illegal?
Thank New York and California. Both states banned the sale of clothing with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, otherwise known as PFAS, starting in January 2025. (As the EPA conservatively puts it, exposure to the chemicals ‘may lead to adverse health outcomes’; they’re not great for the environment, either.) But those PFAS are what made Gore-Tex repel water.
And not just Gore-Tex either. Although the Gore-Tex brand name is often generalized as a rain stopper—the Kleenex or Xerox of the outdoor world—there are many materials that work as waterproofing, with various flexibility, breathability, and cost benefits. Think of waterproof clothing lines like Patagonia’s H2No or North Face’s DryVent. Anything with PFAS had to change.
‘It’s been kind of a learning period for the industry,’ says Charlie Berg, outerwear senior product manager at Seattle-based Outdoor Research. ‘It’s taken a while for the industry to work with the new chemicals and learn how to optimize them.’ Like other gear makers, OR has updated its rain jackets, waterproof gloves, ski bibs, and more in the last few seasons, making use of non-PFAS fabrics and coatings. And these new, greener versions aren’t necessarily less effective, he says—just different.”…