Q&A: Can DuPont’s Materials Protect People and the Planet?

Polymers are in nearly every aspect of daily living, from household items to advanced technologies. 

However, many synthetic polymers, particularly plastics, can persist in the environment for centuries and cause harm. 

American chemicals company DuPont has developed many polymers, including Teflon, Mylar and Kevlar. 

Steven LaGanke is Global Segment Leader for the Life Protection segment at DuPont Kevlar. 

His efforts focus on expanding the reach of Kevlar EXO, a next-generation aramid fibre that offers enhanced durability, flexibility and weight savings compared to conventional soft body armour technologies. 

Steven shares his expertise with Sustainability Magazine.  

What are DuPont's sustainability goals? 

DuPont has established nine sustainability goals to achieve by 2030, all falling within three key pillars: innovate, protect and empower.  

To innovate for good, we use our talent, resources and expertise to address the world’s most pressing sustainability challenges such as climate action, enabling a more circular economy, creating products that are safe and sustainable and advancing water stewardship. One example includes our work to advance sustainable chemistry in the design of our products and processes. 

To protect people and the planet, we take action to ensure the safety of our employees, contractors, customers and communities. Ultimately, the most valuable business outcomes are the ones that enable people and the planet to thrive. Our goals are to: 

• Reduce our Scopes 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 from the 2019 base year and deliver carbon neutral operations by 2050.  
• Reduce our Scope 3 emissions from purchased goods and services and end-of-life of sold products by 25% by 2030 from the 2020 base year.  
• Source 60% of power to our operations from renewable sources by 2030 as part of our RE100 commitment.  
• Implement holistic water strategies at sites in high-risk watersheds and at high consumption sites by 2030. 
• To empower our employees and communities, we encourage active participation in the communities where we work with key nonprofit partnerships. One of our goals is to improve over 25 million lives through social impact programs. 

How do DuPont products for body armour production align with sustainability goals?

First, our latest innovation, Kevlar EXO is designed to protect people and save lives.  Body armour designs using Kevlar EXO can use 30-40% less material based on the improved strength and durability of this new innovation. Using less and longer lasting materials is a great start. 

Secondly, DuPont’s commitment to minimise our overall footprint includes the recycling, repurpose and reuse of remnants from our manufacturing process, the process of our converters and the process of the body armour manufacturer. We also have a plan and a referral program to recover end-of-life process materials to avoid landfilling and recover them for a second life benefit. These materials are collected, disassembled and repurposed to create value through new applications such as staple fibres, spun yarn and felt and other textile and industrial applications.  

Kevlar EXO’s production process falls in line with DuPont’s overall sustainability goals as it avoids the use of harmful substances, requires less material for the same level of protection, recycles leftover remnants and repurposes material. Since less material is required for ballistic protection when using Kevlar EXO, this ultimately leads to less end-of-life materials to recycle or repurpose and less process remnants to dispose of.  

DuPont has also launched a referral program designed to promote responsible material lifecycle management. This initiative supports all stakeholders across the value chain—from manufacturers to end users—by encouraging collaboration in the collection, reuse and repurposing of high-performance materials. 

What are the challenges in disposing of body armour sustainably? 

Disposing of body armour sustainably presents several key challenges and the first is to avoid the need to landfill or incinerate the materials used in the body armour. This requires advance thought about sustainability in the ballistic material design which allows separation and reuse later.

Body armour is designed for durability and resistance to wear and tear, even after they reach the typical five-year expiration mark (to ensure those wearing the armour are protected the entire lifetime of the armour). To achieve this, bullet resistant vests and other soft body armour are multi-layered and can be bonded with resins or other composites. This ultimately complicates the material separation portion of the recycling process and makes it more difficult to break down using conventional methods. Our initial Kevlar EXO products are woven fabrics which do not contain harmful chemicals and resins which allows them to be easily recoverable for second life use. 

When looking at the industry as a whole, there is also a lack of standardised recycling infrastructure and regulations for handling ballistic materials, which makes widespread implementation of sustainable disposal practices even more challenging. 

How is DuPont addressing these challenges? 

To address the difficulty in breaking down the materials of soft body armour, the design of our initial Kevlar EXO fabrics used in body armour do not contain resin chemistry. Resin binders are often used to hold ballistic fibres together in rigid or semi-rigid armour panels, which makes the materials harder to separate. By eliminating resin use, the Kevlar EXO remains in a more pure, unbound form, which is easier for the recycling process. This design approach increases the possibility of reuse of the high-value fibres and further reduces waste. 

When it comes to defence applications, Kevlar EXO does not rely on fluorine chemistry in the manufacturing process, which further limits the environmental and health concerns associated with chemicals like PFAS. Plus, Kevlar EXO avoids the use of fluorine chemistry for water repellency, which is a more sustainable option that does not compromise on protection or durability in harsh conditions. 

Could this set a standard for the industry? 

With the development of Kevlar EXO, DuPont is focused on setting the standard for sustainable design and recyclability of soft body armour and bullet-resistant vests. Because Kevlar EXO does not use resin or fluorine-based chemistry, we have created a material that is easier to break down and recycle during the end-of-life process without compromising on performance or protection.  

DuPont also works with industry partners across nearly all regions to support customers in their effort to be more sustainable.  

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