ptfe

This is the first full episode of Season 4 of ThrowForward Thursday. This season, we will keep the videos shorter, so they can be used in your "Five Minutes from the Future" sessions. And they will be followed (next week) by a discussion guide to help you and your team implement the Futurist Skillset we touch on in today's episode. 

This episode is about future materials - for everything from construction to clothing - and how we're going to find new materials with remarkable properties. I take you back in time to how we turned Teflon into waterproof clothing, just by playing around in a lab; and look forward to how you and your team should be playing around with the raw materials of your industry.

To get early access to next week's discussion guide and resource about experimentation, make sure you join my Futures Club at http://www.JoinTheFuturesClub.com 

This week I welcome Vishnu Marla, a scientist at W. L. Gore & Associates, a company with an amazing history of innovation. 

Gore is a materials science company focused on creating solutions for the most challenging environments — from implants in the human body to clothing worn on expeditions to Mt. Everest, to electronic cables transmitting signals from Mars.

Since 1958, Gore has developed products that improve lives. At the center of these solutions is polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), a polymer with exceptional properties like high tensile strength, a low dielectric constant, UV resistance and many more. In 1969, the possibilities for PTFE expanded with Bob Gore’s discovery of expanded PTFE, or ePTFE.

Gore fabric technologies have revolutionized the performance of fabrics by controlling porosity through unique microstructures. Membrane technologies and advanced polymers and materials have been developed to meet specific performance criteria for outdoor activities as well as occupational and industrial uses.

Gore has 12,000 employees, with manufacturing facilities in the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Japan, and China, and sales offices around the world.

You can learn more about Gore by visiting https://www.gore.com. 

Polymer membranes make everything from rain jackets to medical devices. But they’re also integral parts of hydrogen fuel cells, powering cars that give off nothing but water vapor. How do fuel cells work, and why aren’t you driving one yet?

Solutions is made with funding and featuring scientists from 3M, Ascend Performance Materials, Baker Hughes, BASF, Dow, DuPont, Procter & Gamble, PPG, Royal DSM, SABIC, Solvay, and W. L. Gore & Associates, none of whom influenced any editorial decisions.

Are you still stuck on nonstick or other stain-, grease- and water-resistant chemicals found in coatings on cookware, carpets, and clothing, in microwave popcorn bags and fast-food wrappers; even on waterproof and stain-repellent clothing? In this episode, we interview Tasha Stoiber, Ph.D., a senior scientist from the Environmental Working Group.

Tasha explains what PFAS chemicals are, how you and your family are exposed, and shares the associated health implications including the impacts on cancer, immune function, metabolic outcomes, and neurodevelopment. Found in the body of virtually every person tested, Tasha explains the biggest source of exposure to PFAS’s and why they’re often referred to as ‘forever’ chemicals. Tasha leaves listeners with steps people can take right now to reduce their exposure to these poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs).

I don't want to sound like Chicken Little, but the sky is not falling. However, we are literally bathing in a myriad of potentially toxic and harmful toxins and pollutants in our everyday lives. We touched on some of these toxins during my interview with Dr. Trasande. In Part 1 of today's episode, Kathy and I will go over 4 of the 7 common toxins that all of us may be exposed to on a regular basis. Some of these can definitely affect your sleep quality. Stay tuned for our next episode when I reveal the next 3 toxins.

Click here to find out what these common toxins are and how you can lower your exposure. 

Show Notes

Dr. Trasande, author of Sicker, Fatter, Poorer interview

Slow Death By Rubber Duck

Sleep interrupted

Environmental Working Group (EWG)

Micro-poop theory article 

Homemade cleaning products on Pinterest 

Branch Basics cleaner review