Body odor is an embarrassment
which every body would have faced in one or the other time. The stench of sweat
or dirt may put a person in discomfiture, while with others. People look for
clothes that smell good, and remain fresh for a longer time, thereby boosting
their confidence. They expect specialized finishes that control body odor and
remain fresh for a longer time.
A recent survey reveals that 51%
of the participated men expressed their willingness to pay more for apparels
manufactured with special treatments to control body odor and enhance
freshness. Outfits such as socks, shirts, and slacks were their choice. 45% of
the women participants were willing to pay more for specially treated clothing
such as intimate apparels, tops, bed linens, etc. Both men and women
communicated strong preferences for buying bed linens, towels and other home
textiles that are freshness enhanced.
Application of Anti microbial
Agents:
Textile fibres induce the growth
of microbes like bacteria, and viruses, which is aggravated by humid and warm
environment. Therefore antimicrobial agents are used in textiles to protect the
wearer and the textile substrate itself. Chitosan is an antimicrobial agent
derived from Chitin, which is found in crustacean shells. Coating the textiles
with Chitosan is advantageous as they posses immunological effect. Numerous
natural herbs are available which can be used to give special treatment to
fabrics. Silver is a natural antimicrobial which is used for many centuries.
With the technological advancements in nanotechnology, silver particles are
produced in nano scale such as 4nm which is used in dispersions of nano silver
particles to give special finishing in textiles.
Antimicrobial agents are applied
in textiles through exhaust, pad-dry-cure, spray, coating, and foam techniques.
They can also be added directly into the fibre spinning dope. Antimicrobial
finishing in fabrics have potential applications in manufacturing uniforms,
tents, defense textiles and geo textiles.
Apparels with Cyclodextrin
finish:
Cyclodextrin is produced from
starch through enzymatic conversion. It posses a cylindrical structure which
acts like a host and can absorb guest molecules inside the structure and
release them later on. This hydrophobic cavity present in cyclodextrin
molecules can react as odor impeding property in textiles. The hydrophobic
cavities are capable to absorb and store sweat and odor from the environment.
Once their storage capacity is finished, they will not work any longer. Their
capacity can be renewed through washing the garment. Yet another possibility of
cyclodextrin finishing on garments is to fill the substance with perfume
through a spray or through a softener in laundry. When the apparel is worn, the
perfume is released from the substance blocking the body odor.
Various special finishes are
applied on the textiles to remove bad odor. Textiles and apparels have the
biggest consumer base. Advances in this field and focus in customer oriented
products has a lucrative market. Textile enhancement is expected to become a
trillion dollar industry in the next decade, with incredible economic,
technological and ecological benefits.
References:
- 'Antimicrobial Textiles - An Overview', Dr. T.
Ramachandran, K. Rajendrakumar, R. Rajendran, http://www.ieindia.org
- http://textile.2456.com
- http://www.health911.com
