W. L. Gore and Associates (Gore) has released the “Responsibility Update” of its Fabrics Division for 2021.
Gore has published this type of annual report for the eighth time in a row since 2014. This year’s report highlights the central importance of sustainability to Gore’s business. It explains how the Gore Fabrics Division uses its principles – trust in scientific knowledge, commitment to transparency and collaboration in industry associations – to provide innovative and sustainable product solutions. And the report reveals how the Gore Fabrics Division is being steered and guided by its sustainability platform to bring its sustainability strategy updated last year to life.
The highlight of the “Responsibility Update 2021” is a report on the development and presentation of expanded polyethylene (ePE) – an outstanding example of how the Gore Fabrics Division is driving the development of more environmentally friendly material innovations thanks to its enormous expertise. This new, complementary material platform will form the basis for membrane technologies in Gore’s consumer business in the future.
Another top story in the “Responsibility Update 2021”: the market launch of EXTRAGUARD, an innovative upper technology with a reduced ecological footprint for a completely new category of safety shoes, by the GORE-TEX Professional division.
Ross MacLaine, Sustainability Leader of the Gore Fabrics Division, said: “I am pleased that in 2021, despite multiple challenges, we have made significant progress in many areas. Our sustainability platform is now firmly anchored in the company and gives important projects the necessary strategic orientation – both in our consumer business and in our GORE-TEX Professional division. In this year’s “Responsibility Update”, we take the opportunity to directly incorporate the ideas and thoughts of a larger number of our experts in order to make their extensive knowledge clear that we have in the field of sustainability. We will continue to work hard to fulfill all of our self-imposed tasks and those set out in our sustainability strategy – with the aim of protecting people and the environment while extending the lifespan of our products and improving the well-being of their users.”
Other highlights on Gore’s path to greater sustainability in 2021:
- The Gore Fabrics Division once again conducted a full assessment of its overall carbon footprint and partnered with partners in its supply chain to reduce CO2 emissions from raw materials.
- The Gore Fabrics Division received certification according to the “Global Recycled Standard (GRS)” for its plants in Putzbrunn (Germany) and Shenzhen (China).
- The Gore Fabrics Division used the Higg Facility Environmental Module (FEM) to increase transparency about its past performance and efforts to reduce the impact of its plants on the environment. While gore’s manufacturing facilities in Shenzhen and Elk Mills (USA) were each able to maintain their performance levels, the Gore plant in Putzbrunn significantly improved its overall environmental score.
- The Gore Fabrics Division also re-audited compliance with social standards at its manufacturing facilities using the Higg Facility Social & Labor Module (FSLM).
“All these projects and results make it clear that the Gore Fabrics Division was once again able to make important contributions to our planet and the people who live on it in 2021. We have decades of scientific expertise, we work intensively in research and development, and we carry out rigorous testing programs – so we have a duty to continue to drive the development of more environmentally friendly material innovations with the best possible combination of durability and reduced ecological footprint,” concludes Ross MacLaine.
Gore revolutionised outdoor apparel with waterproof, breathable GORE-TEX materials over 40 years ago and continues to be a leading innovator in functional clothing. Products with Gore functional material offer comfort and protection in difficult conditions as well as in everyday life and offer their wearers the opportunity to experience more. From hiking in the pouring rain, to defense deployment, to firefighting, Gore understands the needs of consumers and industries, the drivers for developing products that provide the performance benefit.
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