TextiMagTM: ICL’s new mineral-based odor reduction textile finish

The world revolves around trends, and in today's day and age, several important trends are making people rethink the relationship between their clothing and bad odors. In recent years, the clothing industry has seen a steady uptick in consumers who seek activewear and workwear that effectively reduce bad body odor. In fact, over 60% of consumers are likely to search for odor-resistant technology when purchasing activewear.

This trend corresponds with another trend, which sees eco-minded consumers attempt to do less laundry in an effort to minimize water use and increase their sustainable impact.

There's a need for better odor-reducing textiles

Clothing items that attempt to reduce body odor have been around for a while, and offer certain advantages. Yet at ICL-IP, we realized that the available solutions also have many drawbacks, and therefore decided to jump headfirst into creating a novel odor reducing solution.

Let's explore today's main odor reducing textile technologies. Moisture-wicking fabrics, for example, are very popular. These fabrics separate moisture away from the body and actually help people who engage in sports to cool down a bit. But – and this is a huge but – they aren't actually that great at body smell reduction. This is because sweat in itself does not have a smell. Bad odor is manifested via the combination of sweat and bacteria that reside on the skin.

Another option is antimicrobial clothing, which use textile finishing chemicals or silver to wipe out or inhibit skin bacteria. While effective, an antimicrobial finish for textiles can raise several concerns. Chemically-treated fabrics, which incorporate chemicals such as triclosan and triclocarban, aren't very sustainable, as the chemicals gradually wash out of the clothing during washing machine cycles and enter water systems. Speaking of washing cycles, several tests show that the efficacy of chemically-treated fabrics and clothing with silver technology gradually loses its luster after repeated laundry washes. Last but not least, some consumers are concerned about wearing clothes that contain chemicals, and therefore prefer to seek other options.

Introducing TextiMag^TM

TextiMag^TM is a revolutionary functional finish for textiles developed by ICL-IP, which acts as a textile performance enhancer that effectively reduces bad body odor. TextiMag^TM is based on a natural mineral source with a wide surface area that requires very little solution percentage to create the desired odor reduction effect – and remains effective even after 100 laundry washing cycles.

Our novel solution can be applied to any woven, knit or nonwoven textile – for either sportswear or workwear. In addition, its natural-based origins make it a highly sustainable solution for today's forward-thinking textile industry. Oh, and TextiMag^TM is also very effective. How effective? Let's delve into the study results.

Measuring TextiMag^TM efficacy

Claiming efficiency requires scientific proof. So, we used the best methods and worked with cutting-edge labs to examine just how effective TextiMag^TM really is.

We asked CompLife, a renowned testing laboratory from Italy, to conduct a clinical TextiMag^TM efficacy study. The laboratory gathered 30 subjects who were asked to conduct running sessions on a treadmill with unwashed and washed treated shirts made from both cotton and polyester. The study's goal was to determine whether fabrics treated with TextiMag^TM pass a subjective 'sniff test', which was defined as the ability to "demonstrates significant reduction of the underarm odor intensity compared to the untreated fabric."

After performing the required sports activity, the subjects were asked to fill out a questionnaire. According to the subjects' raving reviews, the treated shirts were indeed able to counteract bad smell formation during sport sessions and reduce armpit odor. In fact, when asked if they would buy the product, 87% of the subjects answered yes. Here's a breakdown of the questionnaire results:

In addition to the clinical study, we also used the ISO 17299-3 method to test isovaleric acid odor reduction rate (ORR) on polyester and cotton textiles. Our results showed an odor reduction rate of over 95% for cotton and ~90% for polyester.

Safety comes first

At ICL-IP, safety is our main concern. TextiMag^TM effectiveness doesn't mean much without product safety, and therefore we conducted rigorous safety testing.

CompLife subjected TextiMag^TM to several strict safety tests. Acute oral systemic toxicity tests (OECD 129) classified TextiMag^TM in category 4 (GHS), while an In Vitro Skin Irritation: Reconstructed Human Epidermis Test Method (OECD 439) classified TextiMag^TM as 'non-irritant'.

Skin wellness is another important concern, and therefore was also addressed by CompLife's clinical study in addition to the sniff test. Regarding skin pH measurements, both washed and unwashed (treated and untreated) fabrics did not alter the pH value of the skin after use. As for fabric skin tolerability, no intolerance reactions were recorded after treated and untreated fabric use, both before and after washing. Regarding cotton fabrics treated with TextiMag^TM, more than 90% of the subjects said they perceived a comfort sensation on the skin while wearing both washed and unwashed treated fabrics. 87% of the subjects said they felt a comfort sensation on the skin while wearing both washed and unwashed TextiMag^TM treated polyester fabrics.

In addition, fabrics treated with TextiMag^TM were tested in skin irritation and cytotoxicity sensitization GLP studies conducted by NAMSA. The results showed no erythema or edema, no cytotoxicity, and no evidence of sensitization.

Advantageous for consumers, manufacturers, and the planet

During the development of TextiMag^TM, we realized that smell reduction is not enough. In order for our innovative textile finish to succeed, it must offer tangible advantages for consumers, manufacturers and the planet.

Manufacturers will find TextiMag^TM easy to work with, as it can be applied to any woven, knit or nonwoven textile, for both sportswear and workwear. It is also easy to apply with existing technology and equipment. As for the well-being of our planet, TextiMag^TM is a very sustainable solution. It is a non-toxic mineral-based product that does not create any organic waste or environmental concerns for either manufacturers or consumers. Speaking of enhanced performance, TextiMag^TM fabrics can be washed at low temperatures and require short wash cycles, thus saving both water and energy.

Speaking about user satisfaction, TextiMag^TM is designed to get bad odor out of clothes, allowing individuals to engage in sports and work-related activities without having to worry about the way they smell. There's a good reason why the TextiMag^TM slogan is "Train hard – pass the odor test."