First Source Worldwide’s Focus on Environmental Safety, Performance and Durability
Chemical companies generally have a bad reputation when it comes to the environment. Sometimes deservedly so but I have learned that textile coatings are my friend. Earlier generations of textile coatings contained chemicals like formaldehyde and fluorine that we now know are bad for the environment. In recent years, research in new technologies has yielded environmentally safe coatings for use in textile and many other industries. At First Source Worldwide, our Soratex line of textile coatings is a new generation of coatings developed for your safety, environmental safety, performance, and durability.
There are Soratex coatings for activewear that help keep us cool by wicking the moisture from our body. When we sweat the coating on a non-absorbent material, usually polyester or nylon will pull the moisture from our skin and dissipate it causing a cooling effect for our body. Wicking action is important in sports apparel and work clothing for men and women that spend their time outdoors.
I love the outdoors, and I especially love trout fishing! I trout fish year-round if the fly line doesn’t freeze in the rod eyelets. Some fishing waders are made from rubber, PVC, or neoprene. They are great when water and air temperatures are extremely cold, but they are harder to move around in and can become unbearably hot and uncomfortable in warm weather.
Textile coatings keep us dry and warm in the winter and cool in the hot and humid summer days in the south. Water-resistant coatings allow manufacturers to make waders out of lightweight nylon. Some of you will understand that even on the hottest days of summer a mountain stream is cold and can make old bones hurt. Lightweight waders protect you from the cold water without the heat exhaustion that comes with more traditional waders. Add a camouflage tee and hat that will protect you from the sun and wick away the moisture and heat, then you are ready for an all-day adventure in your favorite mountain stream on the hottest of days. Add some fleece wading pants and wool socks that are coated to wick, a coat treated with a soil and water repellant with a wicking liner, and you are ready for the coldest day in the stream. The fish do not notice the cold until you net them, but we do.
Soratex coatings are applied to wool yarn to use as indicator material. The materials we use to tie the flies that we fish with are often coated with a textile coating to help them float longer over the river run where that trophy trout is feeding. The Soratex coatings are compatible with bright colors and the natural colors that we need when enjoying the great outdoors. First Source Worldwide can also supply the colorants needed.
First Source Worldwide has the formaldehyde-free and florine-free coating that you need for garments, technical fabrics, military fabrics, and nonwoven filtration media. Bring us your substrate and your specifications and our labs work with you to meet any coating need. Click the picture below to contact us for more information!
About the Author: Mike Phillips
