Since the pandemic began to rage in early 2020, people have been concerned about maintaining their source of income, and this is not exclusive to business players, especially B2C players. Businesses who can offer their products by retail may be concerned with their sales because they are unable to open their store during quarantine. Furthermore, it may also impact the e-commerce market players due to a loss of revenue from consumers, or customers may believe it is not worth investing their money on merchandise, especially when it comes to clothing or apparel, as they might feel “what’s the point of buying a shirt for RM60 when you just sit at home?” and “why should I buy a shirt while the old shirt still can be use?”

However, thanks to the nanotechnology services provider of  textile and garment industry in Malaysia, NanoTextile to save someone’s bacon in this current situation. NanoTextile offers the opportunity for business players to “invest” in functional clothing as part of their product collections, a safety and precautionary investment. NanoTextile has in offer for the resultant clothes design and processes, but also in business models where innovations, leading to a range of functionalities, technical offerings, and production methods has become the outcome from the offerings. Nowadays, we know that people and technology somehow cannot be separated as most of it right now are prone to become technology-savvy. Everywhere we go, we need technologies to survive. Hence, in the midst of COVID-19, it’s not about the technology we hold, but the technology we wear. NanoTextile is able to make the dreams realization of,  “When Fashion Meets Technology” come true. It can be seen through this theme, functionalized clothing textiles has now become a higher demand mainly in Muslimah fashion brand in this country precisely for anti-bacterial technology which is featured in Hygienic Series; one amongst many series NanoTextile has got to offer, then and now.

Hence, the core to understand how anti-bacterial technology works is first by understanding the meaning behind it. Anti-bacterial was classified, according to the dictionary, as anything that kills bacteria or suppresses their growth or reproductive potential. The main function of anti-bacterial textile is to help prevent the growth and spread of microbes from attaching tangibly on the fabric. A humid condition allows the bacterium to linger and propagate in the air roughly 45 minutes after someone sneezed. Subsequently once it is attached to our clothes, the embedded anti-bacterial properties help slow down the growth of bacteria by preventing the migration and microbial growth which is further enhanced by human body sweat secretions, skin desquamation, natural particles present in the clothing fibers or on the fibers itself, or nutrition from elsewhere in the environment.

If we can see, the condition described above is extremely beneficial in a situation rife with viruses and illnesses such as Covid-19. It’s like having two layers of protection against the virus and the environment. For example, we wear a face mask that also has anti-bacterial properties on it. As a result, consumers would feel secure. Similarly, BioRomper, a recent start-up, debuted a single product, an antimicrobial jumpsuit. When travelling, this New York formulation was designed to avoid cross-surface contamination. It’s similar to a hazmat suit, but it’s more sustainable and appealing at the same time. According to L’officiel, BioRomper took five months to develop the jumpsuit and it was sold out in just eight weeks.

Additionally, anti-bacterial technology on textiles helps create awareness amongst people on the hygiene practices in clothing we wear. Nanotechnology in the matter of fact, does not only shield you from bacteria and other microorganisms, it also provides the cloth with a permanent defence to combat bacteria, mould and mildew that create smell. This makes anti-bacterial products in textile stay fresher longer and persist protect against the potentially dangerous bacteria lasts wash after wash. On a different note, in the warm and humid areas, the mould were not subject to cloth only, but it also has affect to leather goods, mattresses, and home walls. This problem has shown in Malaysian store as the leather products are covered in mould after being left untouched for two months due to the strict regulations during quarantine last year. Plus, this problem also hit some of the cinema in Malaysia as the seats and carpets had been totally ruined by the mould and dust due to poor ventilation and humidity.