MUNICH – German functional textiles business Sympatex has been granted a temporary injunction against W. L. Gore that will prevent the technical fabric brand from claiming that its PTFE membranes – the core of Gore's basic product – are "environmentally friendly" and produced without any PFCs of 'environmental concern'.
As we reported recently in Ecotextile News, Gore has committed to develop a new class of PFC-free and also fluorine-based chemistry for use in its PTFE membranes – a move which had the backing of Greenpeace and which looked to have shifted the conversation away from long and short-chain fluorine based chemistry and onto the issue of the potential for chemicals to bio-accumulate within living cells.
Responding to the news, Gore has confirmed it is in receipt of a preliminary injunction obtained by Sympatex. However, in these proceedings, Gore says it has not been heard in court yet and will not comment publicly on the ongoing legal dispute although it is currently evaluating the court ruling. "We are confident that with these environmental targets we are making an important contribution to the protection of the environment, (and) Greenpeace publicly supports our innovation programme and has confirmed that our products are safe to wear for the consumers," said the company, "After Sympatex welcomed Gore Fabrics' innovation programme and offered their support in the following Gore Fabrics’ press release.
