Henry Krause
Technical Director Americas Polygiene
A fresh product can be washed less, and everybody wants that
Polygiene is a market leader in stay fresh and odour control technologies for clothing, sports equipment, lifestyle, textiles, and other materials. In addition to delivering specific antimicrobial and antiviral treatments, the Sweden-headquartered company is doing something much bigger: changing the way people view their clothes. Henry Krause, Technical Director Americas at Polygiene chats with Fibre2Fashion about antimicrobial textiles and the company’s goals.
What is the global market size for antimicrobial textiles?
The global antimicrobial textiles market size was close to $11 billion in 2021. It is estimated to reach around $17 billion in 2027, with North America expected to be the largest market for antimicrobial textiles.
Which segments of the textiles and apparel industry have benefitted the most from antimicrobial technologies, especially in the wake of the pandemic?
The Healthcare related antimicrobial applications and/or solutions has driven the demand for antimicrobials globally. This has been by far the category that benefitted the most during the pandemic, followed by Sportwear and Home textiles.
For example, the Sportswear category alone saw a large number of new and existing brands looking at antimicrobials as a way to enhance their current products with a new feature that, all of the sudden, all consumers were looking for, an odour free, longer lasting and self-sanitising piece of clothing.
Which regions/countries are the major markets for these technologies? Which are the emerging markets?
North America is still leading the way, and it will continue driving the demand for antimicrobials due to a continuous increase in public awareness about microbes, health and hygiene. Following very closely we find China, India and Japan. These markets will catch up quickly during the next couple of years.
The high demand that we see in North America is coming from companies and brands from many different industry segments, including textiles of course, they all want to add real value to their products by using antimicrobials the right way, and by working with technology companies like ours that have a sustainable approach to the use of such technologies, coupled with a responsible way of doing business globally. This is at the core of our company.
What kind of technologies has Polygiene developed for the textiles and apparel market?
Over the years, and through extensive research in the lab and in the real world, we’ve been able to develop a unique set of technologies that we market under the odour control category, which we are the leading ingredient brand globally.
The core of our technology portfolio is Polygiene BioStatic, a unique technology that is very flexible and extremely easy to apply. Polygiene BioStatic inhibits the growth of odour-causing bacteria created from sweat, heat or humidity. The technology is completely customisable and can be formulated to deliver outstanding long-lasting performance. In essence, Polygiene BioStatic helps deliver sustainable fabrics, it saves water, energy and the garments last longer due to less need for washing, and all that gets build into our Wear More. Wash Less story.
Then we launched Polygiene ViralOff. Polygiene started in the healthcare sector during the fight against SARS back in 2004, so when this new pandemic hit, we were able to quickly react and use again all the knowledge, know-how, techniques, skills, methods and processes that were needed to develop Polygiene ViralOff; a treatment for textiles that reduces the presence of microbes on the treated textile (viruses, bacteria and fungi).
Our latest innovation is Polygiene OdorCrunch, again, an easy to use non-biocidal, natural and environmentally friendly technology that has been developed primarily with heavy fabrics in mind (still, it can be used on a wide range of fabrics). This natural anti-odour treatment captures, ‘crunches’ and permanently eliminates the odours. Our technology won the Scandinavian Outdoor Group (SOG) Sustainability Award 2019.
Which are the major brands/retailers associated with you? How are you helping them reduce their impact on the environment?
We have hundreds of customers using our Polygiene technologies globally, just to name a few: Adidas, Diesel, Callaway, Athleta, Rab, Diesel, Salomon, Eddie Bauer, Sitka, Salewa, Mos Mosh, CCM, Gregory Packs, Simons, and many many more.
Simply said, a fresh product can be washed less, and everybody wants that. According to an independent life-cycle analysis, using a Polygiene treated product more than once after washing drastically reduces the environmental impact of the garment compared to the environmental impact of an untreated garment that is washed after each use. Water and energy are saved, CO2 is reduced and the amount of microplastics can also be reduced by doing fewer wash loads. This is how we help our brand partners and end consumers to make a real positive impact on the environment.
What lies ahead for Polygiene? What are the company’s short-term and long-term goals?
Polygiene Group has an aggressive growth plan, which was announced in end of December 2021. This included the long-term goal of the company. Our ambition is to reach a turnover of $100 million before the end of 2026. This growth will come from organic growth, and also from suitable acquisitions that fit under the Polygiene Group. In the short term, we will continue to strengthen and grow our core business; to be the leading ingredient brand for technologies that support the textile industry globally, and at the same time enable consumers to make a difference by Wear More. Wash Less.
Published on: 19/01/2022
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
