Polygiene® – Wear More. Wash Less®

What is Polygiene and how does it work?

• Polygiene is based on silver salt (silver chloride) produced from recycled silver.
• Silver chloride is naturally present in water and 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 for effective treatment.
• Polygiene is co-applied with other treatments to the fabric during the finishing stage. This helps minimize the impact on the environment because additional energy or water is not required.

What are the benefits of Polygiene Odour Control Technology?

The silver salt (AgCl, silver chloride) in Polygiene inhibits and guards against the growth of odours from microbes such as bacteria, fungus and mildew.

Your garments, footwear and gear will:

• Stay Fresh – Polygiene inhibits the growth of odour-causing bacteria for that fresh-all-day feeling. Odour develops when odour-causing bacteria settles into the fabric, mixes with sweat and multiplies.
• Stay Hygienic – Polygiene helps prevent odour and prolongs the lifetime of clothing, footwear, gear and wetsuits, since the products are treated to resist deterioration by mold fungus and odour-causing bacteria.
• Get a permanent effect – The treatment is permanent and effective for the lifetime of the product.
• Be more climate smart
  • Wear More. Wash Less® – Polygiene treated garments can be used several times before washing and can be washed at lower temperatures which means that you save energy, water, time and money.
  • Longer lifetime of garments, gear and footwear – Fibers live longer without bacteria and excessive washing, and treated products are not discarded prematurely due to odour.
  • Less luggage can be used when traveling.
  • Recycleable – Polygiene-treated garments can be recycled when worn-out.
  • Polygiene is bluesign® approved – the textile industry’s demanding environmental certification with a life-cycle approach.

Any efffects when worn next to skin?

• Background in the healthcare sector – Polygiene has its heritage in the healthcare sector and has undergone extensive skin sensitivity testing.
• No interference with bacteria naturally occurring on the skin – Polygiene is active only on the material’s surface and does not interfere with bacteria naturally found on the skin, even when used for long periods of time^{1, 2}. Tests also conclude that there is no identified risk from dermal and oral contact with silver treatments.³
• Polygiene is not nano silver.

Environmental Impact

The best way to reduce a garment’s environmental footprint is to wear more and wash less. Polygiene makes this possible.

• Wear More. Wash Less® – Consumers are responsible for at least 2/3 of the environmental impact of a garment during its life-cycle4, primarily due to their laundry habits. Lack of water is an acute problem in most parts of the world. Parts of Europe, the U.S. and Asia are already experiencing shortages of fresh water.⁴
• Use textiles in a sustainable way – Man-made fibers like polyester will play an important role in meeting the world’s growing demand. We need to use textiles more efficiently, that is, clothing and gear must be made of the more sustainable synthetic fibers that stay fresh, can be washed less and last longer.⁵
• Lower impact on environment when Polygiene treated garments are washed less – An independent life-cycle assessment (LCA) study shows that using Polygiene-treated polyester garment more than one time before washing, lowers the garment’s environmental impact compared to an untreated garment that is washed after every use.⁶

Polygiene works actively to educate retailers and consumers about the impact that we all have on the environment through the clothing and laundry choices we make. Wear More. Wash Less®, recycle and reuse!

Hard facts

• Polygiene Odor Control Technology is bluesign® approved, the textile industry’s demanding environmental certification with a life-cycle approach.
• On the Oeko-Tex 100 list (I–IV) of approved products.
• Registered under the EU Biocidal Product Directive and approved by the US Environmental Protection Agency.
• Meets the requirements of REACH, the EU’s chemicals legislation.
• Polygiene treated garments and gear can be recycled in the Eco Circle® system and the Common Threads Garment Recycling Program.

• Hoefer D and Hammer T. Antimicrobial active clothes display no adverse effects on the ecological balance of the healthy human skin microflora, ISRN Dermatology, 2011, 369603
• Kawai K. Kawai method for testing skin irritation. Japan 2010
• Assessment of nanosilver in textiles on the Danish market, Danish Ministry of the Environment, 2012:1432
• Löfdahl A. Akut vattenbrist i världens megastäder (Water shortage in the worlds megacities), Svenska Dagbladet, Sweden 2012
• “Well-dressed?”, Cambridge University, UK, 2006.
• Rasmussen D and Slothuus T. Environmental Impact Comparison of Silver-Treated Textiles to Non-
  Treated Textiles. Science of the Overall Environment (under preparation). DHI, Denmark 2012;11809552.