Fowler Associates Labs

TEFLON® Clothes May Be An ESD Problem

by: Steve Waldrop
July 24, 2002

Since about 1997 we have heard of the new Teflon® coated fabrics for clothing. The idea which is a good one is that they are the ultimate soil release fabrics. These clothes are seeing an upsurge during the 2002 back-to-school buying season.

As far as we know these clothes have not been measured for their electrostatic charging propensity. For use in school and camping - maybe. For use in the electronics industry - We don't think so.

In light of our refueling fires series, the extra charging of a person wearing Teflon® coated clothing getting out of a car may also be an issue. We will keep you updated as we know more about this trend.

Teflon® is a registered trademark of DuPont