Purista Poised to Freshen Up Uniform Industry

A fabric treatment new to the uniform industry may soon join the growing list of products designed to extend the wear and improve the comfort of garments worn in the work environment.

With the rise in consumer demand for comfort enhancing and easy care textiles, textile manufacturers as well as retailers and brands are looking for new ways to add value. Today’s garments must not only look good, but they must also wick away moisture, repel stains, provide stretch, and be wrinkle free after laundering.

Arch Chemicals would like to add the term “freshness” to the list of consumer demands. The chemical giant has formed an alliance with BASF’s Performance Chemicals for Textiles business unit to market Arch’s Reputex™ 20 freshness-enhancing finish and its associated Purista brand label, which is used on treated consumer products in the U.K., Southeast Asia and Canada. The companies are working together to enter new application sectors in everyday clothing and home textiles, such as shirts, fashion tops and bed linens.

“We wanted to join forces with a company that would strengthen our existing operations making the Purista treatment available throughout the global textiles chain and at the same time offering technical development potential. BASF was the natural choice for us,“ says Peter Cowey, international business manager for Arch. “As an expert in textile finishing, BASF can support manufacturers in smoothly implementing the new product into their existing processes.

The product range of BASF's Performance Chemicals for Textiles business unit includes products and concepts for weaving, pretreatment, optical brightening, analog and digital printing, coating and finishing, as well as dyeing auxiliaries.

Headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, Arch Chemicals is a global biocides company with approximately $1.3 billion in annual sales. Arch and its subsidiaries have market leadership positions in the treatment and performance products business segments.

Launched in the U.K. in 2001, Purista is the current dominant freshness-enhancing brand in Europe. The treatment is used extensively in socks and suit linings and is distributed through retailers such as GEORGE, a clothing brand of Wal-Mart; the UK fashion retailer NEXT; Moss Bros and Tesco.

Arch would also like to extend its market share to the American uniform industry, and has identified hospitality, food service, transportation and the corporatewear segments as its target markets. The company has entered into talks with undisclosed U.S. mills and manufacturers to determine interest.

Reputex is an antimicrobial treatment for textiles such as cotton and cotton blends. It makes textiles stay fresher for longer by controlling the growth of micro-organisms, which would cause odor and fabric deterioration during today’s lower temperature wash and wear cycles.

Is antimicrobial the same as anti-odor? Not necessarily. Antimicrobials can help control some odors that are attributed to the bacterial decomposition of sweat and surface particles on the skin. Other anti-odor finishes function by trapping, masking or neutralizing odor molecules.

It should also be noted that the EPA identifies antimicrobials as pesticides and regulates the use under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). Extensive testing and registration of the chemical and the end product is needed if health or some other types of benefits are claimed. EPA has published a Treated Article Exemption, which allows end products to make some claims such as protection from odor or product degradation, without registration of the end product if two conditions are met. The chosen antimicrobial must be registered with EPA and the chemical must be approved for use on that specific end product.

The Purista treatment is being marketed as a benefit for consumers seeking increased comfort and easier care from textiles to support their busy lifestyles. Why Purista-treated products would be a good idea, the argument goes, is that theoretically it should require less laundry than traditional fabrics, saving on energy and natural resources. And garments that are washed less often should last longer too. On finished consumer products in the U.K., the Purista brand is used to communicate the benefits of purity, freshness, labor saving, and eco-friendliness. These benefits are captured with the tagline: “Treated with Purista – Fresher for longer.”

Arch believes that Purista will serve as a real advantage for the service and hospitality industries as well, where perspiration can lead to unpleasant conditions for co-workers, colleagues and customers. And in a recent study commissioned by Arch, consumer attitudes tend to support this assumption. The study found that more than half of male shoppers are willing to pay a premium for clothing and textiles that stay fresher, longer.

The study also found that the freshness-treated garments men would be most interested in purchasing are socks (44 percent), shirts and tops (44 percent) and pants and slacks (42 percent). Other freshness-treated items men said they would purchase include bed linens (52 percent) and domestic kitchen and bath towels (46 percent).

Among female respondents, 45 percent reported they would be willing to pay more for treated versus untreated clothing and textiles, and expressed the strongest purchasing preference toward freshness-treated bed linens (60 percent), domestic towels (54 percent) and shirts and tops (48 percent).

Favorable public perception and an October, 2005 decision by the EPA cleared the way for Arch to enter the American market. Drawing on rigorous product safety and chemistry data, the EPA accepted a registration amendment to include the use of Purista treatments on apparel and other textiles. "The EPA acceptance opens a major growth opportunity for the Purista brand in the sizable U.S. clothing market,” said Cowey. “The Purista treatment is very cost-efficient and offers consumers and textile suppliers real and useful performance advantages."

But the jury is still out regarding when the product will make it to the uniform market. The industry’s stringent garment durability requirements have slowed the process, as has the lack of realistic data on the benefits of reduced garment washings. Questions, too, remain over cost. According to Cowey, cost is determined by the level of treatment required, perhaps making Purista cost-prohibitive in certain situations. However, the additional expense may be negated by the increased life expectancy of the garment. “We need users of our treatment in order to conduct the proper research, and we’re in the process of doing that.”