Welcome!

If you like being out in nature, you probably prefer to have some good outdoor clothes, which will give you the freedom to be out in any weather. But how well do outdoor clothes and nature go together? Often not very well. PFOA is a chemical used at one hand for making PTFE (a membrane like for example Gore-tex), and on the other hand to make clothes water repellent on the outside. PFOA does not break down in nature and is harmful for animals, including humans.

Do we then have have to go back to old-fashioned, sweaty plastic raincoats, or to boots that can't manage water? Not at all! Alternatives are plentiful, and often better than those things that the 'outdoor sports' market is stuffed with nowadays.

The text 'Gore-tex: time for alternatives' starts with some basic, easy-to-read technical information about rain gear and the chemicals used. Since complaining without offering alternatives is all too easy, the emphasis of the text will be on which alternatives can be found on the market. Gore-tex is far from the only brand using harmful chemicals in their products. The reason for mentioning this brand name more than once, and for using it in this website's banner is because for many people it has become a symbol for 'high-quality', waterproof, breathable clothing.

A few-pages-long essay can not go into detail on everything. The text is in the first place meant to inform people interested in how they can make choices to reduce their environmental footprint when it comes to outdoor clothes. If you would like to discuss certain issues more in detail, there is usually opportunity for that on the numerous hiking forums out there. All kind of comments, suggestions or questions are welcome either by email our in the guestbook.

Enjoy the reading!

Pieter, biologist and hiking lover