38. Is There an Alternative to Toxic Solvent-Based Gear Coatings? with Gabriella Whittaker
- Meg Carney
- Apr 14
- 14 min read
In episode 38 of the Outdoor Minimalist Podcast, we do a deep dive into a topic that I’ve been wanting to learn more about for quite some time but wasn’t sure where to look. We are discussing solvent-based coatings.
These are the waterproof and abrasion resistant coatings that we apply on a lot of our outdoor textiles from tents to backpacks, pants, and more. Solvent-based coatings have quite the impact environmentally and socially.
Luckily I had the pleasure of talking with someone that is working to help shift the industry away from toxic solvent based coatings to a safer alternative.
Gabriella Whittaker is a relatively new member of the outdoor industry professionally, but she has been an avid participant in the outdoors since before she could walk. She grew up skiing and climbing in the mountains of Washington and Idaho, and her time spent in nature fueled a passion for protecting these environments. Now, she has found a space for her love of sustainability to make an impact on the outdoor industry through PolyCore Solutions.
Polycore Solutions
Website: https://polycoresolutions.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/polycoresolutions/
YouTube: @polycore7939
Episode Resources
This transcript was edited to remove some filler words and phrases and is not verbatim according to what is spoken in the audio recording.
Meg: Thanks for joining me today, Gabriella. I’m super interested to learn more about gear coatings. This is a topic I’ve been wanting to dive into for some time, but I haven’t really been able to navigate all of the information online and from other sources. So, it’s awesome that you’re going to provide all of this for us.
But before we get into that, can you tell us more about how you got involved in the outdoor industry and outdoor recreation, and how that fits into your life today?
Gabriella: Hi Meg, thank you so much for having me! I’m really excited to be here.
Yeah, I’ve been involved in the outdoors my whole life. Ever since I was little, I grew up in Washington and Idaho, climbing and skiing in the mountains. I’m still a big skier—ski mountaineer, actually.
In college, I majored in environmental science. I’ve always been passionate about the environment and sustainability, and I was lucky enough to join Polycore, where I could overlap my love for sustainability and the outdoor industry. So that’s where I am now—kind of trying to push the outdoor industry toward this new level of sustainability.
Meg: Awesome. And is Polycore Solutions kind of your first role in the outdoor industry specifically?
Gabriella:Yeah, it is! I actually just recently graduated from college, so my role with Polycore is my first role in the outdoor industry.
Meg: And what exactly is Polycore Solutions?
Gabriella: Polycore is a sustainable textile supplier. We provide high-performance recycled fabrics, like recycled nylon and polyester, and then we coat them with our signature eco coating.
Our goal is to eliminate the use of virgin materials and solvent-based coatings in the outdoor industry.
Meg: I love that idea. I think Polycore Solutions is the first company I’ve ever heard of that actually has a replacement for other types of solvent-based coatings. So that’s really interesting.
And what exactly is your role with them?
Gabriella: I’m Polycore’s Director of Brand Management and Sustainability. Like you said, an alternative to solvent-based coatings isn’t something you hear about much—and it’s not something people really know about.
So, my role with Polycore is kind of being that translator—explaining to consumers why this is important and what kind of environmental impact solvent-based coatings have on our world.
Meg: Yeah, so you are the perfect person to be talking about this today—that's great!
Ad break:
Adventuring plans on your calendar?
Remember to grab your Lava Linens travel towel on your way out the door. Founded by a mother-daughter team, Lava Linens crafts durable, luxurious travel towels as a more sustainable and better-performing alternative to microfiber and cotton towels.
Powered by flax and hemp, they're designed to be by your side for years to come.
Use the code OutdoorMinimalist for 15% off your next order.
Meg: So let’s talk about gear coatings in general, and then we can get into more about Polycore Solutions and how they're helping solve a lot of those issues.
What are the most commonly used coatings in the outdoor industry, and why do we use them?
Gabriella: Yeah, so gear coatings—or just coatings in general—are used to add some kind of element of water resistance, wind resistance, or abrasion resistance to a fabric.
Any piece of gear or clothing that falls into those categories isn’t going to be just the plain fabric—it also has a coating on it.
A very commonly used coating is DWR, which makes fabric super water-repellent. Another one is a PU coating, which also adds elements of water resistance and durability.
These coatings just make fabrics super tough and resistant to water and wind—things like that.
Meg: And those would be the kinds of coatings we’d primarily see on things like jackets and tents? Or what types of materials are they usually applied to?
Gabriella: Yeah—so any kind of outerwear that needs water or wind resistance, like rain gear, ski gear, snow gear.
And then definitely backpacks, gear covers, tents—anything that needs to withstand the elements.
Not so much on soft apparel items like base layers, but anything more exposed to the elements will have a coating on it.
Meg: You already mentioned one of them that I think most people will be familiar with, which is DWR.
Is that the most commonly used solvent-based coating, or are there others out there too?
Gabriella: DWR is extremely common, but oftentimes it’s not the only coating.
DWR goes on the face of a fabric, and then a lot of times there will be a coating on the back side as well. Because DWR just provides water resistance—so if you also want the fabric to be more abrasion-resistant, last longer, and not tear as easily, you’ll need another coating, which is often a PU coating.
Meg: Okay, and for listeners who aren’t sure—what exactly does PU stand for in PU coating?
Gabriella: It stands for polyurethane coating.
Meg: And what’s the reason Polycore Solutions came about? They’re clearly trying to solve an issue and replace these solvent-based coatings.
So why are solvent-based coatings bad, and what is their environmental impact?
Gabriella: The founder of Polycore—my boss, Arthur Chen—has been in the outdoor industry for decades. He’s always been part of the backpack manufacturing sector.
Over his time working in the industry, he was exposed to all of the terrible environmental impacts caused by solvent-based coatings.
He’s a material scientist, so after retiring from his outdoor industry career, he spent time in the lab and found a way to create a PU coating that performs just as well as a solvent-based coating—but it’s actually water-based.
That’s really important because the problem with solvent-based coatings is that when they’re applied to fabric, the process releases what are called volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, into the air.
You might’ve heard of them before—it’s basically a general term for hazardous little particles that are released into the atmosphere. VOCs are what create smog, and they cause a lot of environmental damage and air pollution. They’re also harmful if you’re inhaling them.
A good way to understand the problem of solvents is through the story of paint.
Until a couple of decades ago, most paints were solvent-based. When you opened a can of paint, it had that really toxic smell, and after painting a room, you weren’t supposed to go into it for a few days because of all the VOCs that had to dissipate.
The government realized how harmful solvent-based paints were, so they put regulations on them. Now, if you go buy paint for your house, they’re all water-based.
But textile coatings? They're still using those same toxic solvents that have been banned from paints—because there are no regulations on textile coatings.
Meg: So is the most impactful time period during the production phase, when it’s being applied?
I know for a lot of gear, those coatings wear off over time. So is it kind of like synthetic fabrics that shed microplastics—are the solvents also shedding toxic stuff into the environment as we wear them and they wear off? How does that work?
Gabriella: Yeah, so as those coatings wear down, the VOCs are wearing off with them and going into the environment. So using a water-based coating would also eliminate that impact throughout the product’s life.
Meg: Okay, and like you mentioned with the paint example—which I really loved, thank you for using that comparison, it made it easy for me to understand—there are a lot of impacts, it sounds like, on human health as well.
So other than the environmental impact it’s having on the atmosphere during production, what is the impact on the people that work in the factories applying these coatings and even developing the solvents? And is there an impact on the people that live near production centers as well?
Gabriella: Yeah, absolutely. So, for those who are working in the finishing mills, they have to wear a lot of protective gear to keep the VOCs from entering their eyes, nose, mouth, and even from touching their skin. But it's still not uncommon for them to come in contact, which definitely causes health issues.
And for the surrounding communities—as I mentioned before—VOCs are one of the main ingredients in ground-level smog. So, as these VOCs are being pumped out of the mills, they’re creating terrible air quality for nearby communities. It’s really detrimental to people’s health.
Air pollution is actually the number one preventable cause of death, and it’s just getting worse and worse these days, especially in the countries where most of our things are produced. Air pollution is a huge, huge problem.
Meg: You already kind of mentioned that a lot of things are produced outside of the United States, but where are most of these solvents being produced and then applied?
Gabriella: It’s primarily in Southeast Asia—so places like Vietnam, Taiwan, China—those areas.
Meg: You kind of mentioned before that although there are regulations surrounding these solvents in paints, there isn't yet that same regulation with textiles. We talk a lot about third-party certifications on the podcast.
Are there any types of certifications that people or brands could look for that would protect workers or communities, and maybe prevent or offset some of those impacts? Or is that just non-existent?
Gabriella: In my opinion, I don’t think there’s a standard that’s quite good enough yet. We’re getting there, for sure. BlueSign has a really good Restricted Substances List, which limits what chemicals their partners can use.
They are actually expanding that list and talking about getting their partners to switch to more water-based coatings. So it's definitely in the works.
But I would say, as of now, there’s not really a standard that covers VOC emissions—at least not comprehensively—because those regulations just don’t exist for textiles.
Meg: Since there isn’t a standard, would you say PolyCore Solutions is the only or best alternative to solvent-based coatings?
Gabriella: There have been other water-based coatings that have come to market. The issue is that, typically in the past, water-based coatings just don’t compare to the performance of solvent-based coatings.
That’s where PolyCore stands out—because our water-based coating truly does perform just as well, if not better, than a solvent-based coating. My boss is a material scientist who’s worked in the industry for decades. He knows the industry standards, and he’s constantly performing tests to prove our coating meets them.
It has extremely high abrasion resistance, water resistance, and tear strength. So I’d say, in terms of being a high-performance, water-based coating, PolyCore is unique in that sense.
Meg: I feel like I see this a lot in the outdoor industry with synthetic fibers versus natural fibers—we’re always comparing them side-by-side.
So it sounds like PolyCore has done some of those tests. You said it performs just as well, if not better. If you were to take, say, a tent with a standard DWR coating that most companies use, and then one with the PolyCore Solutions water-based coating—would it last as long? Is it just as water resistant? How does it compare across those categories?
Gabriella: Yeah, we can basically match the test results of any solvent-based coating—depending on what the coating is used for.
If it’s used for a rain jacket, it needs to be super waterproof. If it’s used for a board bag, it needs to be super durable. By manipulating the coating, we can match the test results of solvent-based coatings.
Meg: That’s awesome—and that kind of relates directly to the next question. Are the applications just as wide? Can you use water-based coatings for pretty much everything that we’re using solvent-based coatings for? Or are there limitations?
Gabriella: The application process is the same and could hypothetically be done by any textile finishing mill that has the right equipment.
The one thing that’s very unfortunate about water-based coatings right now is that they aren’t breathable. It’s something our material scientists are hard at work on. But as of now, water-based coatings are most suitable for gear like bags, backpacks, tents, and gear covers—rather than apparel-like items, such as a windbreaker that needs breathability.
So, that’s kind of the next step for water-based coatings.
Meg: Yeah, that makes a lot of sense—that there’s still development happening and ongoing. We've already kind of mentioned that even with solvent-based coatings, consumers often have to reapply them. So is that the same for the water-based coatings?
Gabriella: No. One of the things we really strive for is to have products with water-based coatings that truly last a lifetime. So, you would not need to be reapplying the coating.
Meg: I’m going to kind of backtrack with my train of thought here for a second. You talked about the environmental impacts of solvent-based coatings, but I’m also curious about the overall impact of water-based coatings. Because it doesn’t really matter what we’re producing—if we’re producing something, it has an impact.
You can compare it to the solvent-based ones if you want, or just speak more generally about the impact of water-based coatings. I’m just wondering.
Gabriella: Yeah, I mean, there is still an impact. We're still using textile finishing mills, which use large amounts of energy and water. But it’s hard, because obviously there’s no perfect environmental solution to manufacturing products. As long as we’re still producing things, we’re still harming the environment—no matter how responsibly we think we’re doing it.
That’s something I struggle with personally in my career. Like, am I just encouraging companies to keep producing more things that we don’t really need?
But I do think that Polycore’s water-based coating is a big step forward for the industry. It’s the next step that needs to be taken. We kind of already have the recycled materials piece down, and the next thing to focus on is the coatings.
Meg: Yeah, it is definitely a difficult balance. I’ve struggled with that too, because I write a lot about gear in my career. Sometimes, in the back of my head, I’m like—am I just contributing to unnecessary consumption and production?
It’s hard. It’s a tough balance to strike. But I do agree that moving away from toxic solvent-based coatings would be a huge step.
So kind of transitioning from that—how do you feel the industry can start pushing toward using more water-based coatings? Or even, how can consumers help encourage that shift within the industry?
Gabriella: In my opinion, the biggest driver right now would actually come from the consumer. The fact is, companies and product manufacturers are pretty well aware of this issue. But there isn’t really enough pressure coming from consumers for them to feel like they need to put in the effort to make a change.
We’ve seen that it’s consumer desire and market trends that led so many companies to start using recycled fabrics. And we want the same kind of shift to happen—to phase out solvent-based coatings as well.
Whether it’s through Polycore’s eco-coating or different companies coming up with bio-based coatings and things like that—we just want to see something change.
And I really do think it’ll come from consumers.That means starting conversations with your friends, emailing your favorite brands and asking what they’re doing—like, “What’s your next step?”
Or sharing some of Polycore’s informational content on Instagram.I try to put out a lot of content that’s not necessarily company-specific—just focused on spreading awareness around some of these issues.
Meg: Okay, so you mentioned a couple of ways that consumers can reach out and start encouraging brands to reevaluate the types of coatings they’re using. But if a company wanted to approach a transition—moving away from solvent-based coatings to a water-based one like what Polycore uses—what would that look like?
Gabriella: We go through a long trial-and-error period where we have companies send us their current coated fabric. Then we try to match that coating with our water-based coating, just to prove to them that we can meet all the test results they’re looking for.
We also make sure it has the same aesthetics as their previous coating so they can see that switching to water-based doesn't mean their product will perform differently or even look different.
So the first step is really nailing down the level and type of coating they’d want. We’re very open to working with companies to find the perfect, unique coating for them.If they just reach out, we’ll work one-on-one to find the right water-based solution for their needs.
Meg: Yeah, so it sounds like a really involved process on both ends—kind of personalizing it, for lack of a better word, to the company’s needs.
Gabriella: Yeah, it is, and it is a process. It takes quite a while because it’s not just something where you can check a box and say, “I want water-based coating.” It takes effort from companies, which is one of the challenges we run into. A lot of these companies are so set in their ways, and they already have a solvent-based coating that works great for them. So, why would they put in the effort to make the switch?
That’s kind of been a roadblock for us. But we do have those companies who understand the issue and are taking the time to work with us and make the change—which is pretty inspiring.
Meg: Yeah, that’s really great. And like you said, it takes pressure from both ends—maybe industry pressure, maybe pressure from consumers. And perhaps even if they start to implement more regulations around textiles worldwide, that could potentially help. But I know that’s really hard to do.
Gabriella: Yeah, and I think the way that would happen is through third parties like bluesign or other environmental certifications that products can get. Once those certifications start implementing the need for non-toxic coatings, I think that will be a good push for a lot of companies. That way, they can still get that environmental stamp of approval.
Meg: So speaking of third-party certifications—if a company were to utilize the water-based coating, is there some kind of consumer-facing stamp of approval that would let them know, “Hey, this is a non-toxic solvent coating”? Or would we just have to kind of sift through the material descriptions?
Gabriella: It would basically just be an extra little part of their product description saying, “We use Polycore water-based coating.”
Part of my job is working with companies so they can show their consumers things like, “For every backpack we produce, we’re eliminating six pounds of VOCs from entering the atmosphere.”
We can actually put a statistic on it. So, that’s kind of a nice way to advertise that they’re doing something environmentally beneficial, even though it’s not part of a bluesign or other third-party environmental standard.
Meg: Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. When you’re reading through product descriptions, you’ll often see companies write, “This is a bluesign fabric.”
So if we’re also just looking for a Polycore coating, then it would be just as easy—at least, I think so.
Gabriella: Yeah, I agree with you. And I think any company that does choose to use water-based coatings should definitely be using that to their advantage—to market to consumers and say, “Look, we’re taking this extra step. We’re Polycore-approved.”
Meg: You mentioned that on your social media for Polycore Solutions, you share a lot of information about solvent-based coatings and water-based coatings.
So if listeners wanted to learn more about those topics—or if a company wanted to contact Polycore Solutions—what’s the best way to do that?
Gabriella: Our website, polycoresolutions.com, has all the information about our coatings and the fabrics we offer. We also have a blog that dives deeper into some of the topics I’ve covered.
There’s also information on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, where I post little informational pieces describing what we’re doing. My email is on the website—or if you just message any of the social platforms, I’m the one running those, so I’m happy to talk more with anyone who’s interested.
Meg: Awesome. I’ll share the links to all of your socials, as well as the website. And I’ll probably drop some of those blog posts in the episode notes too—so if people want to check out some snackable facts—
Gabriella: Digestible facts.
Meg: Yes! Digestible facts about solvent-based and water-based gear coatings—you can just jump down there and look at those.
But with that, thank you for being here. I definitely learned a lot.
Gabriella: Thank you so much for having me—I really appreciate it.
Comentarios