Simply washing the shoes with detergent was found to eliminate the fecal bacteria and reduce all bacteria by 90 percent or more.
Rockport Machine Washable Collection: The release of the study coincides with the launch of Rockport's new spring Machine Washable Collection—fashion casual footwear for men and women constructed with high-quality, renewable leathers.
The materials used in the collection are resistant to water damage which helps prevent color and texture loss when wet. Traditional materials can become stiff and fade after washing. The Machine Washable collection is sold at national retailers, premium independent stores, Rockport store locations and on the web.
Footwear Study Methodology: New shoes from the Rockport Machine Washable collection were worn for two weeks by 10 study participants. Following the wear trial period, the bottom and inside of the shoes were sampled for total numbers of bacteria and coliform/E. coli. Scientists washed the footwear in a standard washing machine using conditions suggested by the manufacturer: cold water, 12 minute wash cycle using detergent, air dry for 24 hours. Wash water temperature was 24ºC.
Snapshot: Footwear Study Results: • Coliforms were detected outside of the shoes on 96% of the shoes. E. coli was detected on 7 of the shoe bottoms (27%). No • coliforms were detected on the inside of the shoe. • Transfer of bacteria from the shoes to uncontaminated tiles ranged from 90% to 99%. • The average number of bacteria on Rockport shoes before washing and after washing is showing a 99% reduction in the numbers of bacteria on the outside of the shoe and a 90% reduction of bacteria on the inside of the shoe after washing. -- Specifically there was a 99% reduction of the bacteria coliform on the outside of the shoes after washing.
“Life of a Shoe” Online Video: To further illustrate the prevalence of germs and bacteria on footwear today Rockport launched LIFEOFaSHOE.com, a micro site featuring a video short that follows a pair of feet (or shoes) navigating through an average city day. The video demonstrates how vulnerable shoes are to bacteria and exactly how we track it to other locations, including our homes. Visit the site to enter to win a free Bosch washer and dryer and to upload your own video portraying a day-in-the-life in Rockport shoes.
Rockport Machine Washable Lab in Local Markets: To give consumers the opportunity to test the germs and bacteria on their own shoes, Rockport will host mini-Machine Washable Laboratories in select shopping malls and outside participating Macy's locations nationwide. The Rockport lab tour will include three cities: Chicago, State Street (5/1); Phoenix, Fashion Square Mall (5/4) and San Francisco, Union Square (5/17). Tava Smiley, former host of TLC's Clean Sweep, will be in each market to talk about how to avoid tracking bacteria into your home.
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