HANWAG’s EcoShell membrane is a waterproof, breathable, PFC-free solution that’s functional and sustainable in equal measure. And, of course, it meets all our exacting demands on quality and fit. HANWAG’s EcoShell footwear, indicated by the ES in the name, just like the Blueridge Low Lady ES, contains no fluorochemicals.
What makes our waterproof and breathable EcoShell membrane exceptionally sustainable? It contains no PFCs at all.
And what does that mean? PFCs, or perfluorocarbons, are industrially produced molecules that consist of a hydrocarbon structure, but where the hydrogen atoms have been replaced by fluorine atoms. PFCs repel both grease and water, which is ideal for outdoor products like hiking boots. This explains why waterproof outdoor gear is treated with these high-performance chemicals. However, fluorocarbons, particularly PFCs, are not organic, extremely volatile, mobile and persistent. As a result, they are a problem in the natural world. PFCs are emitted and spread as particulate matter, in wastewater during production, or on landfills. Human beings and animals absorb them through the air, drinking water and food. They hardly degrade naturally at all. In fact, quite the contrary, they’re bioaccumulative. In other words, they accumulate in living organisms over time. Temperatures of up to 1300°C would be required to banish PFCs – and such high temperatures don’t exist naturally. As a result, HANWAG wants to stop using fluorochemicals in the long term and is gradually adding to its range of EcoShell footwear membrane models.
How does the EcoShell footwear membrane work? In a nutshell, our EcoShell footwear membrane is waterproof and breathable. It cleverly allows no large drops of water in, but sweat to escape in the form of water vapour. As a result, wearers have pleasantly dry feet, whatever the weather.
To explain it in more detail, EcoShell footwear membrane technology is a semi-permeable physicochemical process in which sweat, or moisture, is wicked away from the foot and converted by the membrane into water vapour, which then evaporates to the outside. Experts call it a hydrophilic system, but in simple terms, our EcoShell membrane is literally attracted to water. The perspiration is stored as a kind of buffer in the membrane, converted to water vapour and escapes through the footwear’s upper and into the environment. This process ensures very dry feet.
What is HANWAG’s EcoShell footwear membrane made of? Our EcoShell footwear membrane is based on our own PFC-free polyurethane recipe (PU). This highly functional and sensitive PU skin is used in our ES models as the core layer of three, which are bonded together by numerous micro-adhesive dots. The wafer-thin PU membrane is protected on the inside of the footwear by a textile lining made of a knitted fabric consisting of 85% polyamide and 15% polyester, which are both made of recycled components. Its outside, which is directly underneath the outer material on the upper, is made exclusively of hard-wearing, recycled polyamide.
And by the way, all components and processes (and therefore the whole three-layer laminate of our EcoShell footwear membrane) have been certified as safe for humans in compliance with Standard 100 by OEKO-Tex. All components, especially the membranes, come from Germany or Europe, which guarantees compliance with stringent legal requirements for environmental (including REACH) and social standards. What’s more, all our recycled components have Global Recycle Standard (GRS) certification.
Interested? Take a look at our models with sustainable EcoShell footwear membrane HERE.
