While we take precautionary measures in our daily routine, why not make our apparel also COVID protected!

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, two very interesting things have taken place across the Indian subcontinent: first, the amount of medical waste being generated across the country has increased exponentially and second, people have started realising that there’s a need for protective gear that goes beyond face masks.

Although the Government of India and the ICMR recently announced the launch of an indigenous vaccine to fight against SARS-CoV-2, its effectiveness on a mass scale is yet to be seen. In fact, until studies can prove that it has a direct impact on reducing the spread of the virus, we will have to continue with our reliance on nano tech products to safeguard ourselves.

However, not all products in the market today, that may help us fight against the virus, are biodegradable. Very few products help solve the mass problem of medical waste accumulation.

Apart from the 200 biomedical waste treatment facilities in the country, there exist two such facilities in Delhi and one in Mumbai. In fact, these facilities in Delhi and Mumbai are functioning at 70-75% and 70% capacities respectively, as per recent reports. The capital city, Delhi, has been producing 27 tonnes of non-covid biomedical waste and up to 11 tonnes of covid-19 related waste on a daily basis. In the meanwhile, the financial capital of the country, Mumbai, has been generating nine tonnes of covid-19 waste and six tonnes of non-COVID biomedical waste daily.

In order to fight not only the virus but also the increase in biomedical waste, companies need to create products that can either be used multiple times without losing their effectiveness or one-time use products that can be easily disposed of without creating an environmental crisis.

Similarly, experts are also trying to include the fashion industry in an effort to create products that are virus proof. In fact, with no catwalk to present curated new seasonal collections, fashionistas around the world are working from home wearing fashionable face masks, matching loungewear and colourful slippers. However, even with the N95 mask being debunked as the best that there exists, brands need to be able to create products that have a high effectiveness towards the coronavirus.

Recently, a startup in India launched an antimicrobial and antiviral jumpsuit that combines the vesicle and silver technologies in its treatment of the textile. The key to creating a jumpsuit using nanotechnology lies in its ability to reduce the viral and bacterial infection up to 99% . The treatment of the jumpsuit using such technological enhancements, allows it to significantly reduce public healthcare challenges which may include the gathering people.

Nanotechnology treatments have been known to create a constant sterilization solution. Such a product may not only protect the wearer from virus particulate matter but it is also a better and more effective solution when compared with untreated control fabric. In fact, a unique textile treatment solution created by a company in India was tested and proved effective against key virus types such as - H1N1, H5N1, H7N9, 229E Human coronavirus and RSV.

(Inputs by- Mr Sasha Bose, CEO of Nano Chemiqs)