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Footwear fabric supplier Gold Long John is taking steps to remove PFAS from its textiles by adopting a new water- and PFAS-free finishing platform in its Vietnam supply chain.

The company produces performance footwear fabrics for brands such as Nike, which has pledged to stop using PFAS in its products by 2030.

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Gold Long John said it’s transitioning to an innovative, wick-free finish in fabrics it produces for a number of performance footwear brands. Produced by U.S.-based textile innovation company Green Theme Technologies, Empel No-Wick employs a chemistry that is molecularly bonded to footwear to repel water and and provide anti-wicking properties.

“Our Oeko Tex-certified Empel platform is a solution for the future,” said Martin Flora, president of global business development at Green Theme Technologies. “It creates the highest performing finishes available, all without the use of water or PFAS chemicals.”

Flora said Gold Long John was the first major footwear mill to adopt Empel in Asia, installing proprietary production machinery in its Vietnam factory with plans to add it to a Taiwan facility as well.

“Because of their contribution and input, we’re now able to scale our clean chemistry throughout Southeast Asia and make a real difference in the fight against water, carbon and chemical pollution, all while providing the world’s best performance,” Flora said.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, otherwise known as PFAS, are used across a variety of products with water-resistant or waterproof properties, and they linger in the environment and waterways when they slough off. PFAS chemicals have been linked to negative health conditions from birth defects to cancer, and the chemicals also have played a role in water and soil pollution. A recent study found that PFAS can be absorbed through the skin.

Those revelations, along with regulations across several U.S. states and a newly implemented federal standard for PFAS levels in drinking water, have spurred many in the fashion and textiles sectors to remove the chemicals from their products and seek new solutions for water and stain repellency.

“Green Theme and their Empel products will help us stay at the forefront of global sustainability solutions, allowing us to supply our footwear brands with highly innovative, cleaner, better-performing materials for their products,” said Kevin Wen, president of Gold Long John. “We see this as a win for us, for our partner brands and for global environmental sustainability efforts.”