Two jobs, two timelines
Fluorinated chemistry did two different jobs in a waterproof jacket. The membrane: expanded PTFE, the original GORE-TEX membrane, is itself a fluoropolymer — a PFAS under the OECD definition. The finish: durable water-repellent treatments were long based on fluorocarbon chemistry ('C8', then 'C6') because fluorinated finishes repel oil as well as water, and last longer than the alternatives.
The phase-out has run at different speeds for the two jobs. Non-fluorinated DWR finishes are now widespread — Patagonia documents its own transition away from PFAS-based finishes across its range, and Rab publishes a per-product PFAS column. Membrane replacement is newer and harder: Gore's ePE membrane, which replaces expanded PTFE with expanded polyethylene, reached garments only in recent seasons.
Reading the labels precisely
The claims you will meet are scoped, and the scope is the whole story. 'Without intentionally added PFAS' — the wording Rab uses, defined on its site as having phased out all intentionally added PFAS per component — means the brand did not deliberately add PFAS to that component. It is not a test result and not a claim that the finished product contains no detectable PFAS: contamination in supply chains and the ambiguity of the broad OECD definition sit outside the claim.
'PFC-free' is the older term for the same concern. And a claim about the DWR says nothing about the membrane, or vice versa: a jacket can carry a fluorine-free finish on a PTFE membrane, or a fluorine-free membrane under a fluorinated finish. This database preserves the exact scope of each manufacturer's wording for exactly this reason.
The regulatory direction
Regulation is tightening on both sides of the Atlantic. In the EU, PFHxA and related substances have been restricted in consumer textiles under REACH. In the US, the EPA has acted on PFOA and PFOS, and individual states — California, New York and Colorado among them — have enacted their own restrictions on PFAS in apparel, which is why some product pages now carry state-specific shipping notices.
The practical consequence for buyers is transitional messiness: the same product can carry different PFAS statements in different regions and seasons as formulations change. Outdoor Research's Foray 3L, in this database, carries a 'contains PFAS' shipping notice on its product page while the brand's campaign page describes the line as free from intentionally added PFAS — a conflict we preserve rather than resolve.