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28 The Authority | AUGUST 2023 Say Goodbye to “Forever Chemicals” How we’re finally getting to PFC-free — and why it took so long. By Archana Ram, Managing Editor for Responsible Business, Patagonia Things are looking up. Patagonia ambassador Majka Burhardt ice climbs Jaws (WI5) near her home in New Hampshire. Photo by Joe Klementovich While water and sewer authorities are passive receivers of the “forever chemicals” PFOA and PFOS and will be re- quired to meet limits in state regulations and stricter limits in the pipeline from EPA, it is refreshingly good news to learn about the exemplary work some companies have undertaken to remove these chemicals from their products and manufacturing and, ultimately their release to the environment. One of these companies is Patagonia, a com- pany known for its environmental stewardship with a mission to prioritize purpose over profit and protect our only home, our planet. Whether its rain jackets and pants, hiking, skiing, or any other outdoor activity that requires waterproof apparel to keep the wearer comfortable while optimizing athletic performance, Patagonia makes this sustainable clothing. This article shares their 20-year journey to soon reach 100% PFC- and PFAS-free across all products. A note from The Authority editor Eight of our designers and materials experts gather around a table, 10 by 10, in the Forge, Patagonia’s research and development facility in Ventura, California. Alongside sewing ma- chines, 3D printers, darning machines, spools of tape, and container upon container of zippers, snaps, elastics and labels, nearby bolts of fabric soar to the ceiling: Big Sur Blue, Gin Green and Adzuki Red, the gang’s all here. But the octet is buzzing about a new fabric that’s just arrived from Viet- nam and been sewn into a prototype ski/snowboard jacket. It will be our first waterproof product built with a DWR (durable water repellent) finish that doesn’t contain per- and poly- fluorinated chemicals (PFCs). These synthetic compounds are known for water repellency and nonstick pans, but also for polluting rivers, increasing cancer risk and staying in the environ- ment—and our bodies—indefinitely. It seems like they might have a win- ner. A material developer splashes some water on the jacket. The water beads up like it should. Then comes the stain. “This was an ‘oh ----’ moment for us,” says Malinda Scheff, a Patagonia ma- terial supplier quality manager. What the group saw that day in May 2018 was a sizeable oil stain courtesy of residual sewing-machine grease em- bedded in the fabric. It was invisible when the garment was dry, but with that particular chemistry, when the water hit, so did the stain. Avoiding machine grease wasn’t a problem we could solve. But it was an inevitability we’d have to account for with a new DWR finish, because PFC-free treat- ments don’t have the same resistance to oil as fluorinated chemistries do. “It was like going back to square one,” Scheff says. On our journey toward better DWR finishes, that was one of several dis- appointing experiences before finally landing where Patagonia is today: 66 percent PFC-free across all fabrics with a DWR finish. By 2024, all our DWR finishes, except those for waders, will be PFC- and PFAS-free. Waders will have PFC-free DWR in 2025. That goal coincides with restrictions on the use of PFAS in California, Colorado and Maine, the earliest of which went into effect in 2021. There are also proposed limitations in the European Union. (PFAS, which stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, is the latest terminology for this wide class of chemicals. If your Patagonia gear is PFC-free, it’s also PFAS-free, PFOS- free and PFOA-free.) It’s taken more than 15 years to get where we are today. Scheff and her colleagues say we’re close to call- ing this done. Others say it’s about ---- time. What’s indisputable is that getting to “PFC-free” without compro- mising performance was harder than we imagined and provided important, humbling lessons.