Winter 2020 - Inside Outdoor Magazine

Inside Outdoor | WINTER 2020 20 Ingredients S ince its inception, Chemours has emerged as a world- leading chemistry provider with a 200-year old legacy and a robust portfolio of chemical offerings spanning retail, en- ergy, automotive, consumer electronics, architectural coating and mining, among many other sectors. Today, Chemours has thousands of employees spread across 37 manufacturing and technical centers, and a customer footprint span- ning 120 countries. Of course, to make it in the out- door industry, companies must dem- onstrate much more than quality products but also an ongoing commit- ment to both sustainability and corporate responsibility – both of which are now core pillars of Chemours’ strategy. For ex- ample, in its latest Corporate Responsibility Commitment report, Chemours established goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60 percent and its landfill volume by 50 percent by 2030. Chemours also is working on becoming carbon positive by 2050. Ten of Chemours’ initiatives, it should be noted, are aligned with the United Nations Sus- tainable Development Goals. Chemours also is a contributing Outdoor Industry Association member and is actively striving to create safer products while staying aligned with the associa- tion’s member guidelines. “These are very ambitious goals that we aim to accomplish by the year 2030,” explained Chemours technical fellow Bob Buck. “We’ve announced some important social and environmen- tal responsibility pledges that no- body else in our industry – and no other publicly traded chemical company – have made. Among them are building a global workforce that’s comprised of 50 percent women. We have also pledged to increase the number of ethnically diverse employees at our company.” One way that Chemours has made inroads in the development of sustain- able solutions through chemistry is with its Teflon EcoElite finish product, a bio-based and non-fluorinated tech- nology that can repel both water and water-based stains, while maintaining breathability. According to Chemours, Teflon EcoElite finish is also three times more durable than most other non-fluorinated repellents. “A few years back there was some interest in producing non-fluorinated repellency,” explained Lisa Hardy, who is a marketing specialist at Che- mours. “Not only did we embrace non-fluorinated repellency, but we also introduced bio-based component as the raw material for our finish. This bio- based component is 60 percent of the finish and almost two times the mini- mum that’s required from the USDA to be certified as bio-based.” The Teflon EcoLite product repre- sents a significant step change for Che- mours, Hardy said, serving as a more sustainable finish that also meets the highest performance expectations. “We went above and beyond to build a product that is highly sus- tainable but also capable of deliver- ing the kind of performance attri- butes that the industry really wants and needs,” Buck added. “Teflon EcoElite has really been a van- guard product for us and something that’s helped make durable and sustainable water repellent technol- ogy a mainstream product.” According to the team, the product has been a great success so far with millions of garments treated with Teflon EcoElite finish. “It’s taken a number of years, but this is now a product that is widely used globally,” said Buck. “Many leaders in our industry have made vocal commitments to be rooted in this kind of technol- ogy for their durable water repel- lent starting in 2020. And we’re just getting started.” m Chemours and the Chemours Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of The Chemours Company. Teflon and Teflon EcoE- lite are trademarks of The Che- mours Company FC, LLC. Chemours: Creating a Cleaner World through the Power of Chemistry By Gerald Baldino Chemours 2030 Stainability Goals