Environmental Responsibility

An integral part of our culture and business

For us sustainability means being fair and responsible to people and the environment while offering products which provide best-in-class performance. We strive to continually improve the social and environmental impact of our products and processes without compromising their performance. This is the legacy of our founders Bill and Vieve Gore and we are proud to continue this tradition.

GOREWEAR is committed to producing apparel that delivers what we promise and is of highest quality. We want our customers to value and love our GOREWEAR products, and enjoy their functionality for a long time, which is an effective way to reduce the environmental footprint of function apparel.

Product Responsibility

We carefully select the fabrics we use. The choice of fabrics, materials, methods of production, dyes and transport conditions are all taken into consideration prior to the manufacture of our products. To ensure optimal protection and performance our products are field or lab tested for their durability, appearance and quality after washes and impact (e.g. washing-, rubbing-, color fastness).

For GOREWEAR products we only use materials that have been tested for harmful substances and meet the legal limit values. All GORE-TEX and GORE-TEX INFINIUM™ fabrics are certified in accordance with the STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX®. In addition we strive to ensure that all other materials are also certified in accordance with the STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX® or are bluesign® approved. Both third party certification schemes guarantee consumers the highest safety standards. If in particular cases no certified materials are available on the market, we send samples to accredited external laboratories for restricted substance testing as part of our quality assurance process.

Additionally, Gore has been working with the bluesign® standard since 2010 to verify the safety of its products. The emphasis we place on quality extends to our suppliers and manufacturers. Accordingly, Gore carries out continuous external quality controls at production facilities and encourages its suppliers to obtain a bluesign® certification in order to reduce environmental impacts in our supply chain.

An increasing number of GORE-TEX and GORE WINDSTOPPER® fabrics are already certified. In our GOREWEAR collections we predominantly use certified fabrics.

Social Responsibility

At Gore we believe in conducting our business according to the highest ethical standards. We strive to provide our customers with high-value products that enhance the quality of life and to improve the communities in which we work and live. We expect our employees to work with our suppliers, customers and other stakeholders with integrity, fairness and respect.

Accordingly, we also expect our garment manufacturing suppliers to operate according to the same principle. That is why in June 2012, GOREWEAR joined the multi-stakeholder initiative Fair Labor Association (FLA) to promote and protect workers’ rights and improve working conditions in our contracted factories.

As a FLA member we are committed to upholding FLA’s Workplace Code of Conduct and Compliance Benchmarks with our garment manufacturers, verifying compliance through commissioned and independent audits, and engaging with civil society organizations and stakeholders. Additionally, the FLA conducts its own assessments to confirm the effectiveness of our social compliance program.

In February 2017 the FLA accredited our social compliance program confirming that GOREWEAR has implemented effective and state of the art systems and procedures for successfully upholding fair labor standards throughout our supply chains. Read our Fair Compensation Commitment Statement.

Gore's Guidelines on Social Responsibility

Gore's Standards of Ethical Conduct

Gore Modern Slavery Statement


Environmental Responsibility

GOREWEAR products are environmentally sound choices. We are convinced that our sustainability approach will support our long-term business success and also push environmental progress.

We get closer to our target, which is making responsibility an essential part of our business processes. We are engaged in regular dialogue with our stakeholders, and we expect our business partners and suppliers to do business in a responsible way as well.

At Gore, respecting the environment is an inherent part of our corporate culture. We strive to act with integrity and responsibly. We will achieve or even exceed all applicable health, safety and environment regulations as well as additional introduced standards from our side. All of our manufacturing facilities for functional textiles globally have introduced an environmental management system according to ISO 14001 and implemented the bluesign® standard, which demands challenging and comprehensive environmental and safety standards in the textile industry.

We feel obliged to continuously improve our environmental footprint by adopting an approach that rests on three pillars: sound science, life cycle assessment and the durability of our products.

Sustainability FAQ

HOW IS GOREWEAR MANAGING RESPONSIBLE SOURCING DURING THE COVID-19 CRISIS?

HOW DOES GOREWEAR AUDIT THEIR FACTORIES?

DOES GORE PUBLISH A SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY REPORT?

IS W. L. GORE & ASSOCIATES A RESPONSIBLE COMPANY?

HOW MUCH DOES GORE PAY WORKERS MANUFACTURING ITS GARMENTS?

HOW DO YOU ENSURE THAT THE WORK OF THE MANUFACTURERS SUPPLYING YOU WITH GARMENTS IS SOCIALLY AND ENVIRONMENTALLY ACCEPTABLE?

DO GOREWEAR PRODUCTS CONTAIN HARMFUL SUBSTANCES?

WHAT DOES OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 MEAN?

HOW DO WE USE THE OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 FOR GOREWEAR PRODUCTS?

WHERE ARE GOREWEAR PRODUCTS MANUFACTURED?

WHO IS THE FAIR LABOR ASSOCIATION?

WHAT DOES THE FLA CODE OF CONDUCT LOOK LIKE?

HOW DO YOU SELECT YOUR FACTORIES?

IN WHICH INITIATIVES DOES W. L. GORE & ASSOCIATES PARTICIPATE?