Benefits
Why use Polygiene active odour control?
Today, consumers are more concerned about and ask for products that create a cleaner and fresher environment. Polygiene-conducted focus groups have revealed that:
• 30% have discarded a garment due to odour after washing
• Over 50% are willing to pay more for odour-free clothing
• Over 90% admitted that odour reduces their self-confidence
Sweat itself is odourless but it creates the conditions that bacteria need to multiply. odour occurs when sweat mixes with odour-causing bacteria on fabrics. Polygiene permanent odour control inhibits the growth of odour-causing bacteria. Most importantly, however, Polygiene is designed to keep you fresh all day, every day.
Polygiene keeps clothes, footwear and gear fresh and odour-free:
• Stay fresh and odour free – Neutralizes odour by stopping the growth of odour-causing bacteria for that fresh all-day-feeling
• Stay hygienic – Less bacteria and fungi in clothing, footwear, wetsuits, socks and gear
• Effective and permanent treatment – odour-free effect guaranteed for the lifetime of the product
• Safe next to your skin – Does not interfere with the skin’s natural bacterial flora
• Eco – friendly
– Less washing – Clothes can be worn several times before washing
– Less luggage – Travel light
– Clothes last longer since bacteria and excessive washing do not break down fibres as quickly
– Based on natural silver salt made from recycled silver
– bluesign® approved – Meets the most demanding environmental certification for textiles
Safety and hygiene
Is Polygiene safe next to the skin?
Active only on the fabric surface, Polygiene does not interfere with the skin’s natural bacterial flora. Textile-based products including clothing, footwear and gear treated with Polygiene are safe to use next to the skin.
Polygiene particles are also more than 100 times larger than nanoparticles and therefore are too large to penetrate to the skin’s barrier.
• Medical Class 1 approved in Europe – fabrics treated with Polygiene have received Medical Class 1 approval in Europe, which include usage on bandages for open wounds;
• On Oeko-Tex® list of approved products – listed by the International Oeko-Tex Association, an independent testing institute that has established a global safety standard for textile manufacturing and so-called human ecology.
Does Polygiene help clothing, footwear and gear stay hygienic?
Less bacteria and fungi in footwear, wetsuits and gear helps prevent fungal infections, such as athlete’s foot and other skin irritations that are contagious and difficult to cure.
Environment
Is Polygiene safe for the environment?
Innovative and eco-friendly, Polygiene uses extremely low concentrations of natural silver salt made from recycled silver to minimize impact on the world’s natural resources.
• bluesign® approved – the textile industry’s most demanding international environmental certification that takes the entire product life cycle into account. It covers all levels of the textile supply chain from an ecological, health and safety perspective, certifying the use of components and processes that are safe for humans and the environment. Following the five principles of the bluesign® standard: resource productivity, consumer safety, air emission, water emission and occupational health and safety.
• Registered under the EU Biocidal Product Directive
• Meets the requirements of REACH, the EU’s chemicals legislation
• Registered under the US Environmental Protection Agency.
• Clothing, footwear and gear treated with Polygiene can be recycled according to the ECO CIRCLE system, a Japanese textile-recycling programme.
What is the impact on the environment of a Polygiene-treated garment?
From a life cycle perspective, Polygiene treatment give garments a number of advantages from an environmental point of view:
• Polygiene products can be washed at lower temperatures, which saves energy and money.
• With Polygiene, apparel and gear can be worn several times between launderings. This translates into doing less laundry, using less water, energy, detergent and softener, and packing less luggage when traveling.
• Polygiene prolongs the lifetime of garments and gear because odour-causing bacteria and excessive laundering break down fibres. This means that Polygiene-treated garments and gear last longer so you don’t need to buy new ones as often.
If I rinse my shirt in a mountain stream, is it harmful to fish and other life in the stream?
A minimal amount of Polygiene silver salt is applied and bound to the material of your shirt. The silver ions combine with sulfides to create an inactive, insoluble silver sulfide that does not have any impact on living organisms in the stream.
How does Polygiene affect wastewater treatment?
Polygiene silver ions quickly bond to the sulfides present in sewage water to create an insoluble, inactive silver sulfide. The silver ions are therefore deactivated upon reaching the wastewater treatment plant and do not affect the final bacterial and biological rinsing stage, or the cleaned water produced by the plant.
According to industry experts and third-party research, the low silver content in Polygiene particles and in wastewater does not adversely affect the environment or sewage sludge.*
*According to the IVL report B1826, October 2008, from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, the inactive silver sulfide is harmless to living organisms. Results from the Swedish National Screening programmeme 2007, Sub-report 5: Silver.
Brand/partner support
Does Polygiene help strengthen your brand?
Enhance your brand with ours. We help you increase sales and brand value with:
• Powerful point-of-purchase material to enhance your retail sell-through rate
• Polygiene hang tags and labels for consumer communication and awareness
• Sales training and sales material for your staff, distributors and retailers
• Press releases and photos
• Support at tradeshows and events
• Sound professional advice
How will Polygiene add value to your product?
When presented at retail with the Polygiene labeling, hang tag system and point-of-purchase materials, your clothing, footwear and gear are perceived to have greater value and better functionality to consumers.
Polygiene delivers co-branding value:
• New attribute and technical feature – “Promise to Keep You Fresh”
• Two strong brands form a “Quality seal”
• Polygiene healthcare background – “Approved and good enough for healthcare, good for us, too”
• Safe for the end-user and the environment (Oeko-tex and bluesign)
• Market recognition by leading brands such as WINDSTOPPER, POLARTEC, HAGLÖFS, PEAK PERFORMANCE
Product/ Technology
What is Polygiene and how does it work?
• Polygiene is based on natural silver salt made from recycled silver.
• Silver salt is naturally present both in water (drinking water as well as sea water) and in the soil.
• Polygiene particles have a large amount of silver ions per surface area. Due to the structure of the particles, very small amounts of silver are required. Treating 5,000 garments or approximately 1,000 kilos of fabric requires the same amount of silver as one or two silver rings.
• Polygiene is applied to the fabric during the finishing stage at the same time as other treatments. This helps minimize impact on the environment because additional energy or water is not required.
What is silver salt?
Silver salt, is a highly effective, naturally occurring agent that inhibits the growth of odour-causing bacteria. It is the active ingredient in Polygiene permanent odour control technology. In Polygiene treatment, low concentrations of silver salt made from recycled silver bond to the material.
What causes odour?
Sweat has no odour in and of itself; it is simply the body’s way to cool down and lead off heat. The average human body can have as many as 2.6 million sweat glands, with 20% on the feet. There are two different types of sweat glands:
· Eccrine sweat glands, which produce mostly water and salt
· Apocrine sweat glands, which produce water, salt, proteins and fatty acids
odour-causing bacteria on the skin is carried by sweat to clothing; the bacteria metabolizes with the proteins and fatty acids released from the body to produce an unpleasant smell. Polygiene can guarantee the odour-free effect because it prevents odour-causing bacteria from multiplying on fabrics; clothing stays fresh no matter how much you sweat.
How long does Polygiene last?
Polygiene treatment provides natural odour protection that lasts the lifetime of the product and will always keep your clothing, footwear and gear fresh. The efficacy of Polygiene has been verified through field tests by leading brands as well as independent laboratory tests. The durability of the treatment is tested well beyond the average life of a product.
How is Polygiene applied?
Polygiene can be applied at the same time as other fabric treatments. Because several treatments can be simultaneously applied, no additional energy or water is required, thereby minimizing the impact on the environment.
Does Polygiene absorb odours?
Polygiene stops odour at the source – inhibiting the growth of odour-causing bacteria. Polygiene does not prevent odours from external sources, such as cigarette smoke or perfumes. Results from in-house testing as well as independent field testing indicate that odour absorption products have limited capabilities and can actually re-release odours after reaching a saturation point. [Note: Polygiene does not function as an anti-perspirant, stopping natural and necessary perspiration. It acts only on the surface of the material and does not interfere with the body’s natural cooling system.]
Where is Polygiene produced?
Polygiene is manufactured with minimal use of resources in the EU and in accordance with strict environmental regulations. The manufacturing process is bluesign approved, the textile industry’s most demanding international environmental certification.
About the use of Polygiene on hard surfaces
Is antimicrobial protection really necessary?
The spread of serious illnesses and diseases is causing increasing concern everywhere. Good hygiene practices are the best way to help prevent such spreading, but are not entirely reliable – not even at places where awareness is very high. Therefore, antimicrobial protection such as Polygiene can play an extremely important role as a complement to regular cleaning and hygiene practices.
How long does the Polygiene effect last?
The type and amount of Polygiene additive is carefully selected for each specific product to ensure that the Polygiene effect will remain active throughout the normal lifespan of the product.
How can we verify that Polygiene’s antimicrobial effect really works with our products?
All products manufactured with Polygiene undergo testing at independent test institutes to verify the effectiveness of the antimicrobial solution.
What about environmental issues?
Only extremely small amounts of silver are used, which makes Polygiene an eco-friendly technology. Furthermore, Polygiene is an inorganic additive and therefore environmental issues relating to the use of organic antimicrobial additives do not apply to Polygiene.
