Microban® Gear That Goes Where You Go
Our fast-paced culture keeps most people ‘on-the-go’ more often than not. The market is filled with all sorts of products to support busy lifestyles and help keep everyday agendas running smoothly. While there was a spell in 2020 where the world literally came to a screeching halt, as we close out the first month of a new year, the hustle and bustle is making its return.
Buyers spanning lifestyles from a young professional to a parent of three are consistently choosing products that help them to maximize their time and give them what they need at their fingertips. Products that meet these needs are game changers – especially when on the go. Things like smart watches, functionally designed totes and suitcases, and other accessories can make all the difference in a peaceful experience.
When purchasing the right gear for adventures or everyday life, quality and durability are key consumer considerations. While Microban® antimicrobial technology can be built into any product or surface, this blog focuses on two high investment categories designed to go where consumers go: travel essentials, and wearable fitness technology. Read on for more.
Don’t Lug Around Bacteria
Depending on how much you travel, a nice set of luggage is something most people hope to only have to invest in once or twice in their lifetime. When choosing quality luggage that will last the wear and tear of your adventures, it’s not uncommon to pay an average of $150-200 per bag.
Keeping your nice luggage fresh and clean can be challenging, especially when taking public transportation. Research conducted by Aquaint sanitizer discovered that when traveling by air, luggage can come into contact with up to 80 million bacteria before it’s even set down in a hotel room.
It’s not surprising when you think about how many hands and surfaces our bags pass through, with the wheels picking up dirt and grime along the way. Even the inside of bags can experience stains and odors from shoes, dirty clothes, or moisture from toiletry products. This is especially true for gym bags, where dirty activewear can provide a breeding ground for harmful bacteria. Yet, most people never clean their luggage once they’re back home, only to use it again for the next trip.
Antimicrobial Technology for Luggage
Cleaning luggage isn’t as simple as throwing your precious bags in the washing machine. Bulkier items like this often need to be hand wiped or spot cleaned in order to preserve quality, which can be made simpler with the help of a built-in antimicrobial solution. Luggage and other travel bags can be manufactured with built-in antimicrobial technologies, like Microban®, to prevent the growth of degrading bacteria in between cleanings.
Learn how to manufacture a product with built-in antimicrobial technology
In a recent study, 81% of people who planned to purchase luggage in the next 12 months cited that they were interested in luggage and travel accessories with built-in antimicrobial or odor control technologies [1]. Microban formulations can be customized to any material type whether you’re seeking to achieve odor control for interior fabrics, or bacteria reduction for hard surfaces like handles, hard-shell exteriors, or other bag hardware.
Smart Watches & Headphones vs. Bacteria
Much like luggage, the tech we use during workouts like fitness trackers and headphones are items that many don’t think to clean often. While designed for fitness, most use smart watches as a replacement to an everyday watch – meaning the band and watch itself are in constant contact with skin cells and moisture. The same goes for products like headphones and earbuds, which can accumulate hundreds of thousands of bacteria colonies and are rarely – if ever – properly cleaned.
Tracking your 10,000 steps isn’t the only thing smart watches can do! In a study carried out by CompareMyMobile, smartwatches proved to be the dirtiest piece of household technology, touting around 30 times more bacteria than an average toilet seat.
These prime conditions for bacteria growth are only more optimized when used for fitness, with increased body temperature and sweat giving bacteria a cozy place to thrive. Constant wearing and use can cause microbes to become trapped under watch bands, leading to undesirable odors and even staining, deteriorating the end-user’s perception of quality of the product.
Antimicrobial Technology for Fitness Accessories
Electronic devices can be difficult to keep clean due to their frequency of use, and many people struggle to find effective solutions that are gentle enough to use without causing damage to screens and films. That’s where Microban® comes in.
Our built-in additive formulations can be seamlessly integrated into the materials of fitness watches like plastics, silicones, and more to provide users with 24/7 product protection. Microban technology disrupts the ability for microbes to reproduce, even in ideal temperature and humidity conditions. This unique product feature contributes to a systems approach to clean, keeping bacteria growth to a minimum during use and in between cleanings.
Key Benefits of Built-In Microban® Antimicrobial Technology
- Material agnostic – customizable formulations for any substrate or efficacy goals
- Around the clock protection – Microban technologies last the useable lifetime of the product, unaffected by cleaning solutions, and are active 24/7
- Unique selling point – provides feature to differentiate product lines and answer growing consumer needs
- Extends useable lifetime – Microban technologies help to preserve quality of materials by reducing degrading, stain and odor causing microbial growth
- Seamless integration – doesn’t disrupt aesthetics of existing product look and feel
Discover more benefits of Microban® technology
Ready to upgrade your gear with Microban® technology?
[1] Based on survey research conducted in 2021 by RESEARCH STRATEGY GROUP INC.
