Design of fluorine-free waterborne fabric coating with robust hydrophobicity, water-resistant and breathability

•The GMO modified WSiPU is fluorine-free, which makes it friendly to environment and organisms.•The contact angles of water on WSiPU-treated fabric are ˃140°, indicating that the GMO modified WSiPU coatings have excellent hydrophobicity.•The WSiPU-treated hydrophobic fabric coating exhibits high abrasion resistance, laundry durability (>50 resistance cycles of abrasion and laundry), resistance to acid, salt, and base solutions, breathability, and biosecurity.•The preparation method of the WSiPU-coated fabric is simple, and it is easy to be prepared on a large scale.