Our products do what we say they do
Bill Gore is the man who founded Gore in 1958. He once said, ‘Our products do what we say they do.’ This basic principle was true then as it is now, even if clients’ demands and the market have changed considerably. As a product specialist, I believe this means that we have a duty to product integrity. Our products still have to do what we say they do. We support our products and their claims. We defined demand standards when developing and completing our products based on user needs and we sure stick to them. This applies to GORE-TEX products as well as those products from other industries in our portfolio such as medical life-saving devices or electronic products for the aviation branch. Every product sporting a GORE-TEX label is assessed in a Gore lab to ensure that it functions correctly and lasts long, regardless if it’s a Norrona jacket or Ziener gloves, even though Gore doesn’t develop or produces the products. Yet Gore is behind the components in these products which, for example, guarantee their long-lasting waterproof and breathability features, and oversees the production process with the eyes of a hawk.
Systematic approach with GORE-TEX products
A GORE-TEX product is a carefully built system which considers the function of every element in the final clothing product, not only in the membrane itself. The performance of the whole system is assessed, focusing on the elements of the system as well as the performance of a single trait of the product under real-life conditions such as a running simulation. To ensure that the final products also function correctly we carry out a raft of tests and determine quality standards: GORE-TEX materials are thrown into washing machines and hammered for weeks on end. Should they not be watertight after a minimum of 500 hours of washing, then they’ll also fail in real life. GORE-TEX clothing models are also draped over mannequins in a rain room and wet to see if the membrane of the clothing is thick enough. It often occurs that the products have to be improved, the system is optimised, and tested yet again.
GORE-TEX: a guarantee!
Gore tests everything carrying the GORE-TEX brand to keep our promise. All GORE-TEX products comply with the GORE-TEX GUARANTEED TO KEEP YOU DRY™ promise. It doesn’t matter if it’s a Burton or Mammut jacket, a Meindl or Salomon shoe. Whoever gets wet in their GORE-TEX product or isn’t satisfied with its breathability or windproof features just needs to get in touch with a dealer for help who’ll take over from there. Isn’t that great? As far as I know, no other supplier of functional products on the market offers this or a similar guarantee. Of course, ultimately, everyone is free to buy what they want. But when I purchase a product, then I expect it to do what it says on the box. And should it by chance not do that, then I also expect the provider to fix things. I’ve often chosen the cheapest product in the past to then get annoyed in many cases when I see that my expectations and the product didn’t match. Let’s not even mention the waste of time when being told to ‘hold the line’ on the phone. And then I end up paying more for repairs or replacements. Overall, and this is purely my experience, I end up paying more for the allegedly cheaper product.
