HeiQ Fresh: New Name and Sustainable Products to Embrace Freshness with Less Silver

January 29, 2019

Updated HeiQ Fresh product portfolio: new family name and sustainable products to embrace freshness with less silver

(Zurich/Switzerland, January 29, 2019) — Swiss textile innovator HeiQ launches new products to their HeiQ Fresh product family for a full range of odor control technologies, from silver-free to recycled silver salt options.

HeiQ recently upgraded its family of odor control technologies with new products and the new name of HeiQ Fresh. This technology family of products now offers both silver-free and less-silver odor control options. HeiQ offers these new odor control solutions for those brands looking to reduce or remove silver usage from their products. All products in the HeiQ Fresh family are bluesign® approved or in the approval process.

HeiQ Fresh FFL is a bio-based amino sugar polymer that is silver-free and not an antimicrobial. There are five precursors that need to form on textiles to cause sweat odor – bacteria, warmth, fat and protein from sweat, moisture and the textile surface. By removing one of these items, the sweat odor is eliminated. HeiQ Fresh FFL removes the fat and protein from sweat, thereby eliminating the ability of the bacteria to grow. This amino sugar polymer also binds to the fiber, which allows odor to be easily washed off at low temperature and prevents permastink. With HeiQ Fresh FFL, brands get a silver-free odor control that is not a biocide but still preserves the fabrics freshness.

HeiQ Pure SPQR is a 90% bio-based option for odor control that works with a minimal amount of recycled silver. Similar to HeiQ Fresh FFL, HeiQ Pure SPQR removes two of the five precursors needed to cause sweat odor – fat and protein from sweat as well as bacteria. HeiQ Pure SPQR still passes the traditional antimicrobial tests. With HeiQ Pure SPQR brands get more freshness with less silver.

“Embrace freshness – humans are among the most social of animals and wish to be close to each other. Body odor on our clothes or home fabrics prevents us from close gathering,” says Christian von Uthmann, Chief Sales Officer at HeiQ Materials AG. “We are excited to offer less-silver and silver-free options to our HeiQ Fresh family” continues von Uthmann. “These options are more sustainable and work just as well to control odor as the traditional silver salt options currently on the market.”

HeiQ also offers various odor control test methods for each of its HeiQ Fresh products, from proof of concept tests to proof of application tests. To learn more about HeiQ Fresh, visit their booth at ISPO Munich (Hall C5 Booth 402, 03-06 February 2019, Munich) or at Outdoor Retailer Snow Show at the Concept III booth (booth #54005-UL, 30 January-01 February 2019).

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About HeiQ

Founded in 2005 as a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH), HeiQ is a leader in textile innovation creating some of the most effective, durable and high-performance textile technologies on the market today. With the aim to improve the lives of billions of people by perfecting an everyday product, textile, HeiQ combines three areas of expertise – scientific research, specialty materials manufacturing and consumer ingredient branding. This makes HeiQ the ideal innovation partner to create differentiating and sustainable products and capture the added value at the point of sale.