Livinguard Technologies launches break-through innovation
As the apparel industry faces mounting environmental challenges and public scrutiny—particularly around microplastic pollution and chemical waste—innovations that combine functionality with sustainability are more vital than ever. The Swiss material science company Livinguard Technologies is addressing microfiber pollution with Livinguard Better Fresh, a breakthrough topical textile finishing that delivers a powerful dual benefit – it provides biocide-free advanced odour control (functional benefit) while reducing microfibre shedding by up to 80 per cent over a garment’s lifetime (environmental benefit).
In this exclusive conversation, Fibre2Fashion speaks with Michel Waegli, Head of Business, and Dr. Alok Goel, R&D Lead at Livinguard Technologies, to learn more about the development of Livinguard Better Fresh, its real-world application, and how the company is shaping the future of sustainable textiles.
Livinguard Better Fresh addresses two major concerns for textiles – odour control and microfibre shedding. What were the biggest R&D challenges in developing a solution that balances both functional and environmental benefits?
Michel: The primary challenge of every sustainable innovation is to ensure that the technology does not only work as intended, but that it also fits into the overall industry context and is ultimately economically viable in its application. Unfortunately, business models or technology innovations addressing a sustainability challenge oftentimes result in higher operating costs, require capital investment, or disrupt established supplier relationships and the global flow of goods. All-too-often, this limits their market adoption as the textile industry and consumers are very cost-driven. We therefore consciously decided to combine the functional benefit of odour control with the environmental benefit of reducing microfiber shedding into a single solution. Furthermore, we had to ensure that our solution seamlessly plugs into the existing operations of any textile mill and does not add incremental cost for chemistry and application when compared to another odour control solution.
Livinguard is making quite bold claims for this new solution. How can you substantiate the proclaimed reduction in microfiber shedding?
Alok: Especially in the context of increasing scrutiny around greenwashing in the textile industry, it was critical for us to develop a deep understanding of the many different measurement standards for microfiber shedding and build a robust performance track record for Livinguard Better Fresh. Given that every fabric has its very own shedding characteristics, this involved testing a broad variety of samples to validate the performance of our technology. Obviously, the final performance of Livinguard Better Fresh varies from fabric to fabric, but we have consistently observed a reduction in fibre shedding across different materials and fabric constructions which ultimately encouraged us to launch with the current claims portfolio.
How will this solution and the obtained laboratory results translate into an environmental benefit in a real-world usage scenario?
Michel: It is important to note that during the consumption phase of a textile, quite often the microfiber shedding is highest during the first few home laundries. The sad reality is that clothes are being worn less and less before they are discarded—currently, on average, only about six times. Consequently, the importance of the first few washes is extremely high in a real-world usage scenario as fast fashion business models continue to gain share and the number of “first washes” continues to increase. Our Livinguard Better Fresh technology can practically reduce exactly this early impact in an effortless way for the consumer.
As the textile industry grapples with the environmental impact of microfibre pollution, what scalable innovations or material advancements do you believe hold the biggest promise to solve the problem?
Alok: In our opinion, no single technology can tackle this massive global problem at once – there simply is not an easy catch-all solution. We strongly believe that material development (lower shedding fibres and fabrics) as well as manufacturing practices (e.g. dyeing, cutting & sewing, pre-washing, etc.) as well as filtration of the effluent are key levers to tackle the challenge upstream during production. Our solution can help here to improve the shedding characteristics of pretty much any fabric—independently of the starting point. However, only roughly half of the microfiber pollution originates in that part of the lifecycle of a product. We see our technology therefore mostly complement ongoing efforts to make advancements on the other half of the emissions which happen during the consumption phase. We see Livinguard Better Fresh work hand-in-hand together with the use of water filters in home laundry machines and educating consumers on their laundry practices. Finally, we believe that our technology can help consumers to wear their clothes longer between washes which will inherently have a positive impact.
Many existing odour control solutions degrade over time and contribute to chemical pollution. What makes Livinguard Better Fresh chemistry more sustainable and safer for long-term use?
Alok: Livinguard Better Fresh permanently attaches to the fabric through various chemical and physical mechanisms. As such, the technology is non-leaching—meaning it does not leave the fabric even after 20 or 30 wash cycles . In our opinion, this makes the technology significantly safer and a more sustainable option than alternative odour control solutions. As a company, we are particularly critical of metal-based antimicrobial technologies which work by leaching out of the fabric over time (especially during washing) and then negatively impact aquatic life or may harm the health of the consumer. Furthermore, many alternative odour control technologies especially for odour capturing work by applying some kind of high-surface area nano- or microparticles on the fabric - which then over time also get released into the water and air and hence contribute to shedding and pollution. Overall, we believe that our unique way to provide odour control through a non-leaching technology has a superior environmental and safety profile.
With growing regulatory scrutiny globally, how do you ensure compliance while maintaining speed-to-market for new product categories?
Michel: Overall, Livinguard’s unique setup—with in-house microbiology and applications laboratories, as well as its own textile finishing operations—enables us to carry out comprehensive performance and safety testing swiftly along the entire development process. Nowadays it is critical that any claims are grounded in science and can be backed up by a solid data foundation. Besides all this in-house testing, we therefore also work extensively with external laboratories (e.g. Intertek) to validate performance-related claims independently.
Alok: We look at chemical safety as a key design criterion for the innovation and development process from the very beginning on. All our chemistries are designed to be future-proof – meaning we try to pre-emptively avoid chemistries that might come under scrutiny in future. We ensure compliance with key restricted materials lists from major manufacturers and brands alike. Furthermore, all commercial Livinguard solutions are typically certified by relevant industry standards and labels (such as bluesign approved, ZDHC level 3 compliance, etc.).
Sustainability is becoming non-negotiable in textile innovation. How does your R&D pipeline balance performance with environmental responsibility—especially regarding biocompatibility and water usage?
Alok: Livinguard’s mission is to safeguard the wellbeing of people and the environment with our technology platform. As such, we do not look at this as a trade-off, but we strive to develop solutions that combine better performance or economic benefits with environmental responsibility by design. Livinguard Better Fresh is a perfect example of this approach as the solution provides a unique dual benefit which we believe is key for a successful market adoption. Outside of Livinguard Better Fresh, our company has launched various other solutions – for example to reduce water and energy consumption in the cellulose dyeing process (Livinguard EFD, Livinguard +DYE) – all while providing an economic benefit to manufacturers at the same time.
What partnerships or licensing models have proven most effective in scaling Livinguard’s technology across international markets?
Michel: We are working with various stakeholders to drive impact and scale the adoption of our technology. Most importantly, we work with apparel brands – many of which have committed to reducing the impact from fibre fragmentation down to zero by 2030 (for example as signatories to The Mircrofibre Consortium). These brands are exploring already today the development of lower shedding materials and fabric constructions as well as more sustainable manufacturing practices (e.g. filtration of the effluent in processing plants). Tackling not only microfiber shedding during production, but also during the consumption phase is critical for them to develop a holistic approach that covers the entire lifecycle of their products. As apparel brands typically select and nominate odour control or other finishing technologies and then require their manufacturing partners to apply these technologies, they are a key stakeholder and gatekeeper. Ultimately however, the application then happens with their suppliers with whom we coordinate the successful application of our technology. For the success of solutions like Livinguard Better Fresh, it is ultimately critical to orchestrate activities with the various players along the entire value chain in a meaningful way.
Alok: Besides brands, we of course also work with various NGOs and academic institutions that are active in the microfiber and microplastics space to advance the science and produce relevant insights. We see our technology as a complementary solution to any measures apparel brands and manufacturers are already working on to reduce microfiber shedding.
With microfibre pollution emerging as a growing environmental threat, how do you see Livinguard Better Fresh influencing industry standards or regulatory discussions on textile sustainability?
Alok: We do wholeheartedly support the further development and implementation of standards and regulations to tackle microfibre pollution arising from textiles (e.g. mandates on laundry machine filters, shedding limits, labelling requirements, etc.). The scale of this issue has taken absurd proportions without any action for way too long and now demands decisive action. As a small company with limited resources, we cannot shape or influence regulations directly ourselves. However, as a science-driven company, we will continue our work with various opinion leaders, NGOs and similar organisations in the space to further the research and encourage mitigation efforts on the topic.
How are you educating end consumers and brand partners about the science behind Livinguard technology?
Michel: Most apparel brands are well-aware of the environmental challenges arising from fibre fragmentation and microfibre pollution. Therefore, the key focus of education around Livinguard Better Fresh is centred around raising awareness amongst consumers for the challenge of microplastic pollution. Even though, microplastic pollution makes it regularly into the news these days, there is still very limited awareness about how much clothes contribute to the challenge. Even though textiles are the second largest source for microplastic pollution of the oceans, still everybody seems to be focused on single-use plastic bottles and straws – completely ignoring this dark side of apparel and fashion. We are therefore looking to partner with forward-thinking brands that are willing to proactively communicate on this important topic and raise awareness amongst consumers to adopt more sustainable laundry practices. As with every load hundred thousands of particles can be shed, we all need to contribute by wearing our clothes longer, washing fewer times, at lower temperatures, and finally with gentler programs and detergents! While our solution is a key enabler for change – ultimately solving microplastics pollution must be a joint effort.
