Páramo Greenpeace Detox Commitment
News Release / 26.01.2016
Páramo leads the Outdoor Industry towards the Greenpeace commitment to exclude hazardous and persistent pollutants from the production of textiles.
On 25th of January at the ISPO trade show, Gareth Mottram, CEO of Páramo Directional Clothing publicly announced an important commitment to our customers and the planet. As a part of the Greenpeace Detox program, this commitment lays out the basis for excluding hazardous chemicals from the production of all Páramo Outdoor products.
Although many textile companies from outside the Outdoor Industry have already made this commitment, Páramo will be the first Outdoor company to do so. Why?
Outdoor Dependence On PFC's Has Held Up Detox
Most outdoor brands, with the exception of Páramo, are still wedded to the use of PFC-based water repellents. These materials are either directly released or they break down to form extremely toxic and persistent PFC chemicals which have migrated to the furthest reaches of the world.
Recent research by Greenpeace showed that you can find PFCs in the most pristine environments, in the Arctic and high up in the remotest mountain ranges. Outdoor brands still use PFCs because they are nervous that, without them, their products would not stand up to the technical demands required in wild conditions. It is not possible to remain a PFC user and sign up to the Greenpeace Detox commitment.
Páramo Excludes PFC’s And Yet Delivers High Performance Products. How?
Páramo asserts and has proven that high waterproof performance does not require PFC pollution. Páramo uses water repellency provided by Nikwax, who have a 15+ year commitment to the elimination of PFC chemistry. Páramo’s clothing has been used by many expeditions very successfully, including Greenpeace’s own expeditions to obtain samples of snow and water for PFC analysis. Other scientists regularly choose Páramo, including the British Antarctic Survey team (BAS). BAS researchers have to work for long periods in one of the most challenging places on Earth.
Gareth Mottram, CEO of Páramo said, “Although Páramo is still a relatively little-known brand outside of the UK, we have a disproportionate number of clients who are outdoor professionals, including many geophysical researchers and Biosphere managers. They choose our products because of the combination of comfort and performance. We have successfully shown that we can protect people as well as - indeed, better than – PFC-based Outdoor clothing brands in the toughest of environments. By signing up to the Greenpeace Detox commitment, we are taking an important additional step in verifying that all our sourcing and production has minimal impact on the environment that we love and enjoy. We encourage the rest of the industry to speed up their commitment to removing dangerous pollutants from their production.”
