Ep. 78: W L Gore

Textile Innovation

This week’s guest on The WTiN Podcast is David Dillon, smart apparel business lead at W L Gore.

Founded more than 60 years ago by Bill and Vieve Gore, the company makes everything from consumer products to medical components to fibres and vents. Its most well-known product is arguably Gore-Tex – a waterproof and breathable membrane added to outdoor clothing – and recently it has expanded into wearables.

In this podcast, Dillon talks about the company’s recent involvement with smart workwear and how it can prevent workplace injuries. Such injuries and illnesses cost companies and insurers an estimated US$250bn annually in direct and indirect costs (according to data from the Economic Policy Institute and an analysis by Accenture) and W L Gore has created a shirt that can monitor motion and analyse if the worker is at risk of injury. Elsewhere, Dillon talks about the challenges with smart apparel such as the lack of standards and washability and how data collection and digitising workwear is the future.

To find out more about W L Gore, visit www.gore.com