In recent years, with the rapid popularity of mountain wear and outdoor sports, more and more consumers have found that not only have they known more outdoor brands, but also more and more attention has been paid to the fabric components that they did not care about in the past. This is closely related to the innate technological attributes of outdoor sports brands. For example, the waterproof and breathable fabric Gore-Tex, the thermal insulation material PrimaLoft, and the waterproof and breathable fabric Dermizax have been widely used and have become one of the keys to catching the attention of consumers.
At the same time, consumers' pursuit of functional fabrics has also extended from high-priced outdoor brands to ordinary clothing, either based on the popularization of knowledge about fabrics by brands such as lululemon, Salomon, and Arc'teryx, or from bloggers' active analysis of product performance on social media.
Under the trend of fabrics, brands that are the first to discover market opportunities aim at self-developed fabrics and break through the market with hard technology. Antibacterial and odor inhibition have become one of the most basic demands. However, if you carefully study the clothing on the market, you will find that there are many clothing fabrics that are antibacterial, but there are few products that can really achieve the deodorization function.
In the matter of odor suppression, the brand still has a lot of room for development.
Mature "antibacterial" and advanced "source odor suppression"
First of all, we need to clarify a concept, antibacterial, deodorant, and deodorizing are not the same thing.
Generally speaking, antimicrobial fabrics refer to fabrics that have undergone antimicrobial finishing or contain antimicrobial fibers that can inhibit the growth and reproduction of bacteria and fungi on the fabric. During World War II, the German army clothing and field hospital textiles used quaternary ammonium cationic antibacterial finishes and antibacterial fabrics processed by intermittent impregnation, which played a certain role in controlling bacterial infections among the wounded and sick. Antimicrobial textiles appeared to the public for the first time.
Since then, phenol, organic nitrogen, diphenyl ethers and other antibacterial finishes have been launched one after another, and various antibacterial textiles such as natural fiber antibacterial fabrics, recycled fiber antibacterial fabrics, and synthetic fiber antibacterial fabrics have emerged in an endless stream. Relatively speaking, the history of research and production of antibacterial textiles in mainland China is not very long, only more than 20 years, but the industry is developing rapidly, and the current technology has entered a mature period with a rich range of products.
The Antimicrobial Textiles Market Size and Share Analysis - Growth Trends and Forecasts (2024 - 2029) released by Mordor Intelligence predicts that the antimicrobial textile market size is expected to be USD 13.27 billion by 2024 and is expected to reach USD 15.95 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 3.75% during 2024-2029. Among them, the Asia-Pacific region, led by China, will be one of the fastest-growing markets.
As for the deodorant suppression fabric, it is an advanced product in the large category of antibacterial textiles.
Many businesses often mislead consumers by confusing the concepts of "antibacterial" and "odor suppression" when promoting. On the one hand, the concept of "odor suppression" is emerging and rising, and there is a lack of standards and technical support in the industry; On the other hand, products that focus on "multi-day odor-free" and "long-term freshness" are more likely to stand out from the same kind and occupy the top few sales lists of single products.
CCTV News once discussed "What is the actual effect of textiles known as 'antibacterial and deodorant'?" "topic, conducted an in-depth report. In the report, the Jiangsu Provincial Consumer Rights Protection Commission selected 30 textile products with antibacterial functions on the market, including antibacterial close-fitting sports tops, antibacterial towels, and antibacterial socks, for professional antibacterial and odor resistance tests.
The test found that although the results of the antibacterial rate of the 30 samples met the requirements of the antibacterial effect evaluation before washing, the products emitted different degrees of odor after 3 days of use by the volunteers, and the anti-odor effect was not obvious.
So what is the cause of the odor? The report also gives the answer: odorogenic bacteria. The test results showed that a total of 16 odorogens were found in the batch of antibacterial textile products.
CCTV News
In addition, a concept similar to "deodorization" - "deodorization" is also often mentioned by merchants.
To put it simply, "deodorization" is the use of physical deodorization, sensory deodorization, chemical deodorization and biological deodorization to adsorb or neutralize odorous substances after the human body sweats and produces odors, which is an "after-the-fact behavior". "Odor suppression" is to solve the problem from the source by inhibiting or killing odor-causing bacteria on the human body.
It is important to know that over the years, the testing standards for antibacterial properties of textiles have been continuously improved, and international and domestic standards such as GB/T20944 series standards "Evaluation of Antibacterial Performance of Textiles", AATCC100-2019 "Evaluation of Antibacterial Finishing of Textiles", and ISO20743-2021 "Evaluation of Antibacterial Activity of Textiles" have been promulgated one after another, providing an important basis for the quality control and market supervision of antibacterial textiles from many aspects such as safety, dissolution, antibacterial rate, and washing resistance.
Taking the national textile industry standard FZ/T 73023-2006 "Antibacterial Knitwear" as an example, it specifies in detail the assessment strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli (or pneumobacterium), Candida albicans, etc., and stipulates the corresponding inhibition rate assessment indicators.
However, without exception, these strains do not contain odorogens.
Until January 2024, the T/CNGA 58-2024 "Testing and Evaluation of the Anti-odorogenic Bacteria Performance of Textiles" standard was officially implemented. The "deodorization" track of antibacterial textiles has ushered in its own standards.
It is understood that the standard is led by the China Garment Association, and Far Eastern Zhengda Inspection Group Co., Ltd. and Nanjing Hesu Times Antibacterial Material Technology Group Co., Ltd., Jiangsu Provincial Consumer Rights Protection Committee and a number of well-known brands and other units jointly participated in the drafting, mainly clarifying the representative 25 kinds of odorogenic bacteria in human parts, and stipulating the quantitative testing methods, technical requirements and comprehensive evaluation of the anti-odorogenic bacteria performance of textiles.
Among them, Hesu Times is a leading enterprise in bio-based antibacterial and odor suppression, which has overcome a number of technical difficulties in bio-based antibacterial materials and launched a series of new bio-based antibacterial materials. Starting from the case of Hesu era, it may take us to get a glimpse of the research and development path of deodorant textile products, as well as the future possibilities of the deodorization market.
Hesu era logo
Drive business growth with product research and development capabilities
In 2024, China's consumption will enter the recovery track, and "reducing prices and improving quality" will become the main theme of consumption. Switching to the context of textiles, products with more "special and practical" functions, and maintaining "high" cost performance, can touch the hearts of consumers.
In the case of Hesu Times, this "special and practical" refers to the source of odor suppression, and the "high" cost performance comes from its own core technology and product development capabilities.
In 1999, Hesu Times' parent company, Tianan Group, began the production pilot of the bio-based polymer material PHBV (poly3-hydroxybutyrate valerate). Taking this as a starting point, Hesu Times has continuously attacked in scientific research and innovation, established a strong scientific research team, and actively sought external forces, cooperating with the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Soochow University and other universities and institutes to continuously consolidate its leading position in the bio-based antibacterial industry.
Up to now, Hesu Times has more than 50 invention patents and utility model patents related to the field of bio-based antibacterial, and is the only global mass producer of PHBV and bio-based antibacterial materials OPHB, and PHBV-related topics have been selected into the national "863 High-tech Research Program" for many times.
Hesu OPHB bio-based antibacterial stock solution and Hesu Pro™ fiber
Focusing on the core technology, Hesu Times continues to promote the research and development of bio-based antibacterial fibers, and prepares environmentally friendly and safe OPHB bio-based broad-spectrum antibacterial stock solution through a special enzymatic hydrolysis process of PHBV, realizing the iterative upgrading of three generations of bio-based antibacterial fibers. At present, Hesu Pro™ fiber is a new generation of bio-based antibacterial and deodorant fiber launched by Hesu for the textile field, which has many advantages such as broad-spectrum antibacterial and antiviral, deodorant and odor removal, non-water soluble, high temperature resistance, environmental protection and pollution-free, safe and non-toxic, long-term antibacterial and washable.
This is mainly due to the OPHB bio-based broad-spectrum antimicrobial active ingredient in Hexol Pro™ fibers. For example, in terms of odor suppression and odor removal, OPHB inhibits odor production from the source by inhibiting or killing 25 kinds of odor-causing bacteria that produce odor on the human body; Moreover, it has a good killing effect on the source of infection that causes certain diseases under specific conditions, such as Trichophyton barbae, Gardnerella, Vibrio vulnificus and Propionibacterium acnes.
Species of odorogens
Another major technology, O-S technology, is the core of the preparation of Hesu Pro™ fiber, which not only gives the textile raw materials antibacterial, deodorant and antiviral effects, but also keeps the technical indicators of fiber, yarn and fabric unchanged before and after treatment.
It is undeniable that the "source odor suppression" track is still a blue ocean, and Hesu Times, which has the blessing of a number of patents, has taken the lead by several positions and jumped into it. However, whether it can gain the trust of the market and win the first-mover advantage still has to return to the product.
Based on this, in the face of the C-end market, Hesu Times has launched socks, underwear, clothing, home textiles and other categories that pay more attention to the deodorization function of the source to seize the minds of users.
Hesu era C-end antibacterial and deodorant series products
After 3 years of the epidemic, more and more people have begun to pay attention to the antibacterial, antiviral, and source odor suppression functions of clothing.
The large and comprehensive brand line setting helps Hesu Times attract users' attention from a broader perspective, that is, on the shopping platform, although consumers search for different keywords such as "socks", "short sleeves" and "masks", they may become potential users of Hesu Times. At the same time, through the unified concept projection of "bio-based antibacterial and deodorant" in the advertising copy, the antibacterial and deodorant properties of the brand are once again strengthened, so as to complete the closed loop of user cognition. From the perspective of effect, in 2023, the omni-channel sales of Hesu Times will be nearly 200 million.
In addition, Hesu Times is also actively laying out the B-end market, launching a variety of products such as antibacterial and deodorant filament fiber, antibacterial and deodorant yarn, M-type concentrated antibacterial and deodorant staple fiber, antibacterial and deodorant fabrics, etc., and extending the business tentacles to apparel, home textiles, medical supplies, maternal and child care, feminine products and other fields to explore new market opportunities.
™ Pro-antibacterial and deodorant yarn and Pro-antibacterial™ and deodorant fabric
On the whole, Hesu Times has played a good leading role in the industry, focusing on the bottom layer of technology research and development, and has embarked on a complete C-end commercialization path. Next, after anchoring the B-end market, Hesu Era, which has become a source fiber and yarn manufacturer, will need to spend more effort to establish a deep enough long-term business relationship with the brand to form the same frequency resonance with the entire industry.
In the near future, when more capital pours in and more brands enter the game, the market will fall into the whirlpool of low-price competition. At this time, companies with more original technologies and products will have more market discourse. The good news is that the Hesu era is taking a little step forward to achieve a thousand-mile race.