The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 13 letter word GAS-PERMEABLE
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
G
A
S
-
P
E
R
M
E
A
B
L
E
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "a variety of contacts" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case a variety of contacts = gas-permeable.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.