Here at Grangers International weve 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 technologyas other aftercare companies dideverybody 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 garmentskeeping 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 wetwhich 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 Grangers APT-based proofers, a Grangers product with fluorocarbon technology, and a wash-in proofer from a leading competitor:
As you can see, Grangers APT products performed equally as well as our older fluorocarbon waterproofer when dried in a tumble dryer, and when left to dry naturally. Grangers APT products also compared favourably to the leading competitors 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 isnt as comfortable to wear, and sweat build-up inside the garment is likelyleaving you soaked in sweat even if youve managed to avoid the rain! Intertek compared a Grangers APT-based proofer and a leading competitors wash-in proofer against an untreated jacket in order to see the effects of waterproofing treatments on breathability:
As the above table shows, Grangers APT proofers result in a smaller reduction in breathability when compared to garments treated with a leading competitors 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 Grangers International's APT proofers arent just more environmentally conscious than our previous fluorocarbon-based formulas; theyre also able to offer impressive water-repellency and a level of breathability that suits the ever-changing demands of all outdoor consumers.