Allied Feather & Down has pledged to completely eliminate perfluorocarbons (PFCs) from its water resistant down treatment by 2017, and to use a wax-based technology instead. The Californian company said it had been working toward this elimination since it started testing PFC-free treatments five years ago. The first PFC-free waterproof down product, Hyperdry Eco, was launched last fall and is used by brands such as Montane. Allied says that the upcoming alternative treatment based on natural wax uses a proprietary process leading to less water usage and better performance, while guaranteeing greater adhesion and no chemical discharge. It adds that the process makes down 30 to 40 times more hydrophobic than untreated down, it uses 25 times less water and the treatment absorption rate reaches 95 percent, against 60 to 80 percent for traditional systems. The company says it requires five times less treatment to achieve the same performance.

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