Interview with David Zamarin

I see the materials industry finding alternative methods to scaling new sustainable advancements that will enable them to become more common than they are now.

The most common way to evaluate performance in textiles is through standard AATCC methods that test for certain parameters that help determine the effectiveness of the solution being used. Historically, those tests were made for fluorocarbons. While these are still applicable today, they are not fully accurate in determining whether or not a solution that does not have fluorocarbons will actually work. That said, certain test methods such as AATCC #118 do not always offer a full comprehensive analysis towards the effectiveness of a materials oil repellency. At Impermea Materials we have a host of additional tests that we conduct when determining the performance of our products which include ‘real life’ scenario testing.

Impermea materials has always been at the forefront of developing performance driven sustainable solutions, but unfortunately, much of the industry only evolves when regulatory tailwinds approach. Many applications within the mentioned industries generally lag a few years behind new technologies like ours due to a lack of urgency, increased costs that are associated with making initial changes and being first to market.

The main challenge in creating sustainable solutions for the textile industry is not just related to hydrophobicity, but also to oleophobicity, especially in terms of stain resistance finishes. While conventional C6 technologies are known for their high performance, sustainable alternatives have typically underperformed or been more expensive. However, a new solution has emerged in the form of Impermea Materials, which offers comparable performance to traditional C6 technologies at a similar cost, without the sustainability concerns.

Impermea Materials has developed new generation chemistry that we have coined as siloalckoxyurylsilane. This new generation technology enables super oleophobic properties and super hydrophobic properties among other benefits without the use of any fluorine or substitute bad actor chemical.

We offer the highest performing product in the industry that helps enable new product development without using any fluorine, toxic substitutes and other bad actor chemicals. We do all of this while maintaining the substrates repulpability, compostability and recyclability giving you the ultimate combination of performance and sustainability.

We have a host of performance tests that we conduct when engaging any new customer or incorporating any new chemistry. This includes the industry standards AATCC and ASTM methods. In addition, we internally conduct over 25 additional tests that evaluate a variety of real performance needs. These include tests such as static water absorption, static oil absorption and other stress tests.

Our preferred partner is Regal Fabrics, but we have ongoing projects with several companies for apparel and medical garments.

We are always iterating our technologies and processes to improve everything we do. We are heavily involved with many industry trade organisations and regulatory bodies to constantly optimise our solutions to stay industry leaders in innovation.

At Impermea Materials, we have built a technology platform that allows us to rapidly generate new technologies for many different applications. We entertain new product development when companies reach out with a challenging problem that demands a high performing solution. We also recently hired our Director of Strategy and Product Development, Hannah Haugh, who is in charge of driving new innovation through the lens of our customers.

Our executive vice president and chief research and development officer, Juan Jarufe, brings nearly 40 years of experience in developing ground-breaking technologies and rapidly scaling them up. Under his leadership, Impermea Materials has built a 1 million pound per month capacity ready to take on the industry needs.

We are constantly testing and iterating our technologies to ensure that we are at the forefront of the industry.

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Impermea Materials developed a consumer-friendly coating that could be used for any textile, including medical fabrics. The technologies enabled regular fabrics,  like cloth masks made from Kona cotton, to be sprayed and inhibit antimicrobial properties to the same effect of a surgical grade 3M N95 mask. The study was conducted at Northeastern University.

We want to become the performance leaders in the industry who can solve the hardest problems with the best technology.