The world’s leading PFAS-free gear care system — so every jacket, boot, and sleeping bag you own performs like new, season after season.

“Nick Brown set out from day one to create a company with a genuine commitment to the environment.”
— Heidi Allen, Vice President of Marketing, Nikwax

🇬🇧 Founded in England – PFAS-free since 1977 – Employee-owned since 2022 – VISIT NIKWAX →

(€ = budget | €€ = mid | €€€ = premium | €€€€ = luxe) (★★★★★ = heirloom + zero-waste preorder |

Most waterproofing products on the market contain PFAS — a group of synthetic chemicals so persistent they are now found in Arctic ice, human blood, and the soil of remote mountain ranges. Nikwax has never used them. Not once, not ever, since 1977. In a world where “going green” is often a marketing decision made decades too late, that is not a small thing.

Brand Intro

Nikwax was founded in 1977 by Nick Brown, a passionate walker and chemistry enthusiast based in North London. Frustrated that every waterproofing product available either softened his leather boots or relied on harmful chemicals, he decided to create his own. What started as a one-man operation has grown into the world’s leading PFAS-free outdoor aftercare brand, selling in over 50 countries. In 2022, after 45 years at the helm, Nick Brown transferred ownership of Nikwax — and sister brand Páramo — to an Employee Ownership Trust, ensuring the company’s values live on.

How does Nikwax actually work? Most waterproofing treatments use fluorocarbons or solvents to force a water-repellent layer onto fabric. Nikwax does it differently — and more elegantly. All Nikwax products are water-based, meaning water itself acts as the carrier that delivers the active waterproofing agent deep into the fibres. Once inside, the TX.10i elastomer — a patented polymer based on EVA, the same flexible compound used in the soles of shoes — bonds directly to any fibre that is not already water-repellent: cotton, nylon, polyester, leather. It coats each individual fibre, leaves the spaces between them open, and moves elastically with the fabric as you wear it. The result: water beads off, breathability is preserved, and the treatment survives multiple washes without needing heat to activate it — something fluorocarbon-based competitors cannot claim. It is not a coating on top of your gear. It is a bond within it.

Inspiring Story

It is 1977. A 22-year-old named Nick Brown is living in a flat in North London. He has just finished university, has no job, and a pair of leather walking boots that keep letting him down. The waterproofing waxes of the day were either full of petroleum and animal fats, or they softened the leather so badly the boots lost their support.

So Nick went to his local hardware store. Then came back. Then went again. He mixed organically derived chemicals and paraffin waxes in saucepans on a primus stove, using a discarded tea urn as his production vessel. He poured the result into tins he silk-screened by hand. He loaded them into a second-hand Morris van and drove them to outdoor retailers across the UK.

It worked. Nick’s Wax — Nikwax — was born.

By the time he had refined the formula to its perfect ratios — still a closely guarded secret today — he had also built the foundation of a company that would set an entirely new standard for the outdoor industry.

Who is this for?

You spend real time outdoors. You invest in technical gear — boots, hardshells, down jackets — and you want them to perform season after season. You are not looking for a quick fix; you want aftercare products that actually work without leaving a chemical legacy in the soil, the water, or your body. You care where products come from and why they are made the way they are. And you would rather buy once and maintain well than replace and contribute to waste.

In early 2026, Nikwax swept two major sustainability awards in the UK: the International Green Apple Award for its Roadmap to Zero project, and the UK Outdoor Industry Association Sustainability Award for its newly launched Stain Scrub. The product — a bleach-free, PFAS-free pre-wash stain treatment with a built-in brush applicator — removes stubborn mud and grime from waterproof gear without damaging the DWR coating. It is the kind of innovation that makes a strong case: at Nikwax, sustainability and performance are never in conflict.

DISCLAIMER Sustainability score is subjective. InEurope.eu finds this crucial, but conducts no audits. Assessment based on publicly available information and brand feedback

This blog has been verified by the brand on the date it has been published.