W. L. Gore & Associates announced that the consumer business of its Fabrics Division will introduce two new double-layer Gore-Tex laminates for outerwear insulation with Bionic textile made from plastic waste collected from coastal environments.
Gore has collaborated with the Bionic team to support its mission of reducing ocean plastic through community engagement by investing in Bionic’s plastic recovery and sorting facility in Cóbano, Costa Rica. Through this effort, the operation collects plastic waste so it does not end up in the ocean. Sorted plastic waste is then turned into materials used in the textile component of these new Gore-Tex laminates.
Patagonia will introduce the first products featuring new Gore-Tex laminates with recycled Bionic textile in the Fall/Winter 2023 season. In future seasons, additional Gore-Tex Brand customers will introduce products featuring the new laminates, all of which are constructed with Gore’s new ePE membrane and 100 percent recycled Bionic polyester textile made from 50 percent plastic waste collected from Bionic’s operations in coastal communities and 50 percent from municipal collection.
The material is certified according to Global Recycled Standard (GRS) and durably waterproof, windproof and breathable and covered by the brand’s Guaranteed to Keep You Dry promise.
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“The new Gore-Tex laminates with recycled Bionic textile are a testament to how we can use meaningful scientific innovation to seek bold solutions for some of the most complex problems facing our industry,” said Achim Loeffler, Consumer Fabrics Business leader at Gore. “We believe in the power of going further together by working with like-minded brands. Our collaboration with Bionic and Patagonia will enable us to turn garbage into good.”
Gore provided investment, material science and supply chain knowledge to Bionic, helping to create a robust, scalable supply chain, as well as local recycling infrastructure in the Costa Rican communities.
“Great partnerships are built on shared vision and passion, complementary expertise and the collaborative skills and discipline to see things through,” said Mark Little, global product director, men’s life outdoors for Patagonia. “This innovative project between Patagonia, Gore and Bionic represents that shared vision and what the future can and should look like for high performance outdoor protection–same waterproof performance, no forever chemistries and radically recycled NorthStar material inputs.”
Together with the Cóbano community, Gore and Bionic have collaborated to set up local waste management system to repurpose plastic waste, recycling stations along roads and beaches, organized community beach cleanup events and community outreach, and centralized sorting, bailing and flaking facility and collection routes for local businesses, schools and other institutions.
“This launch is the culmination of years of close collaboration with Gore, the development of novel processing techniques, and the creation of an entirely new and traceable supply chain,” said Tim Coombs, Bionic co-founder. “Raising the profile of Bionic textiles to the standards of the Gore-Tex brand has been the best kind of challenge and resulted in a truly special material that has found a perfect home at Patagonia, with its long history of high-performance innovation and stewardship.”