If flannel is Seattle’s signature style, a rain jacket is our utilitarian necessity. Here, people own multiple waterproof top layers, maybe rain pants as well. So what happens when Gore-Tex and all the other waterproofing materials become illegal?
Thank New York and California. Both states banned the sale of clothing with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, otherwise known as PFAS, starting in January 2025. (As the EPA conservatively puts it, exposure to the chemicals “may lead to adverse health outcomes”; they’re not great for the environment, either.) But those PFAS are what made Gore-Tex repel water.
And not just Gore-Tex either. Although the Gore-Tex brand name is often generalized as a rain stopper—the Kleenex or Xerox of the outdoor world—there are many materials that work as waterproofing, with various flexibility, breathability, and cost benefits. Think of waterproof clothing lines like Patagonia’s H2No or North Face’s DryVent. Anything with PFAS had to change.
“It’s been kind of a learning period for the industry,” says Charlie Berg, outerwear senior product manager at Seattle-based Outdoor Research. “It’s taken a while for the industry to work with the new chemicals and learn how to optimize them.” Like other gear makers, OR has updated its rain jackets, waterproof gloves, ski bibs, and more in the last few seasons, making use of non-PFAS fabrics and coatings. And these new, greener versions aren’t necessarily less effective, he says—just different.
The biggest change with the new waterproofing actually involves getting it more wet, specifically in the washing machine. “As dirt and oil come in contact with [the new] finishes, they just don’t work as well,” says Berg. That means not just trail grime but sweat and even fingerprints. Now all OR waterproof garments come with a tag that says “Wash Me,” and QR codes lead to instructions for detergents and temperatures. “It is counterintuitive” to launder waterproof stuff, Berg admits, but it keeps them working.
Berg says that initially non-PFAS waterproof gear got a bad rap among gearheads with some early flops, but makers have been working with the new formulations for years now. Outdoor Research launches the newest generation of its Helium rain jacket line this spring, using a fabric called Dermizax from Japanese company Toray; after getting samples from the manufacturer, Berg and his team tested it in the lab and, crucially, in Northwest weather.
“These things bead water really well, they’re lightweight,” says Berg. In testing, the new Helium had a 20,000 waterproofing rating, meaning it took more than the pressure of a column of water 20,000 mm (66 feet) tall before it leaked. As the industry emerges from the transition to non-PFAS formulations, waterproof garments are still waterproof. Says Berg: “The good stuff that’s out there, it’s good.”