repellency

"Instead of dyes you could use the structure of the fibre itself, the same for water repellency, rather than coating it, or to make wrinkle-free fabrics."

They have high water and oil repellency and chemical stability.

"For all of its benefits, PFAS-treated gear, when soaked, is dangerous to firefighters. So we need to really ask 'What do firefighters need?' If you're not experiencing this need for oil repellency, there's no worry about switching to non-PFAS gear. But firefighters need to know the non-PFAS gear will absorb oil, regardless of what those oils are."

Ormond said that future work will explore how much oil repellency is needed by firefighters out in the field.

"Instead of dyes you could use the structure of the fibre itself, the same for water repellency, rather than coating it, or to make wrinkle-free fabrics."