Our Acrylic Polymer Technology

By Grangers International
schedule10th Mar 16

Here at Granger’s International we’ve been conscious of the environmental and health implications inherent in using both PFOS and PFOA fluorocarbons for a while now. That's why, back in 2007, we made the decision to move away from using these fluorocarbon technologies in our waterproofing products and began researching something new. 

Rather than simply switching to a silicone-based waterproofing technology—as other aftercare companies did—everybody here at Granger's International wanted to develop something that delivered great performance and durability both today and going forwards. The result of our research and development? Acrylic Polymer Technology.

Acrylic Polymer Technology (or APT) is a blend of synthetic polymers that all work together to reduce the surface tension of any water molecules on the surface of a garment or fabric. This results in water droplets refusing to ‘grip’, and leaves them unable to soak into any treated garments—keeping you dry, and allowing the technical fibres of your kit to function as intended. With an added level of durability that closely matches the real-world performance of fluorocarbon-based proofers, APT is also able to replicate the effects of even the strongest waterproofing treatments without needing constant reapplication!

As with any waterproofing product, however, the best way to test it is to get it wet—which is exactly what we did. We asked two independent testing agencies (SATRA and Intertek) to measure the water-repellency and the water vapour permeability of our new formulations, and to compare the results against our older fluorocarbon products. In other words, we wanted to see how dry APT would keep a garment, and how breathable the fabric would remain.

In the first test, SATRA compared the water-repellency of two Granger’s APT-based proofers, a Granger’s product with fluorocarbon technology, and a wash-in proofer from a leading competitor:

As you can see, Granger’s APT products performed equally as well as our older fluorocarbon waterproofer when dried in a tumble dryer, and when left to dry naturally. Granger’s APT products also compared favourably to the leading competitor’s wash-in proofer, performing roughly as well as the competitor product when the treated fabric was left to dry naturally, and out-performing the competitor product when heat was applied during the drying process.

For our second test, we asked Intertek. to see how our proofers affected the breathability of a waterproof garment. Breathability is an important and often-overlooked feature in waterproof garments. A garment with low breathability isn’t as comfortable to wear, and sweat build-up inside the garment is likely—leaving you soaked in sweat even if you’ve managed to avoid the rain! Intertek compared a Granger’s APT-based proofer and a leading competitor’s wash-in proofer against an untreated jacket in order to see the effects of waterproofing treatments on breathability:

As the above table shows, Granger’s APT proofers result in a smaller reduction in breathability when compared to garments treated with a leading competitor’s wash-in proofer. Both proofers do negatively affect breathability, but this is an unfortunate, and unavoidable side-effect of applying any aftercare product to a garment.

The underlying message, then, is that Granger’s International's APT proofers aren’t just more environmentally conscious than our previous fluorocarbon-based formulas; they’re also able to offer impressive water-repellency and a level of breathability that suits the ever-changing demands of all outdoor consumers.