Our workforce has enough safety considerations to worry about. But everyday workers turn up to work facing a small and potentially deadly threat. Insects. But workwear and hi-vis workwear can be infused with protection against these tiny assassins – just like an inbuilt insect shield!
Insects can be responsible for transmitting a number of diseases caused by infectious agents such as viruses, bacteria and parasites.
Biting insects can be a nuisance at the best of times. But when you have your mind on the job, the last thing you want to be worrying about is the risk of being bitten by a bug and contracting a life-threatening illness!
But what if your workwear could bite back?
Diseases that are spread by insects.
These diseases thrive mainly in tropical environments and are commonly spread by insects. Malaria is the dominant problem.
- Viruses – chikungunya virus, yellow fever, dengue fever
- Bacteria – Lyme disease
- Parasites – malaria, sleeping sickness, leishmaniasis, filariasis
Insects feed indiscriminately on any type of mammals and they can travel large distances. This is how diseases can easily spread between virus, bacteria or parasite infected animals and humans.
What is insect repellent workwear?
Just like people spray their bodies with insect repellent to keep the mozzies from biting, clothing can also be treated. Insect repellent workwear have an insect repellent treatment inherently applied to the fabric. That means the treatment is fused into the fabric itself, providing longer-lasting protection against insects biting the skin through the fabric.
This is ideal protection for employees working in high risk regions, such as tropical and sub-tropical Australia and Papua New Guinea.
How does insect repellent workwear work?
The treatment is impregnated into the fabric during the manufacturing process using nanotechnology, which involves micro-bonding a specialised formula to the fabric fibres. As opposed to dipping the garment, infusing the fabric with inherent insect repellent properties is more effective. The treatment is applied under strict quality control procedures and manufactured to world standards ISO 9001 & 9002. This results in a safe, odourless and invisible insect repellent.
This specialised treatment has been proven to reduce the insect landing (and biting) by up to 92% – and in many cases up to 100%. And if an insect is deterred from landing, it can’t bite you and transmit whatever nasty disease they might be carrying.
But it’s not just biting insects this treatment protects you from.
It also reduces the number of colony-forming units of bacteria, spores, virus and fungi. This is an important feature for those working in high humidity regions, damp conditions or high rainfall. Bacteria, spores, virus and fungi are known to be some of the biggest allergic irritants, so this treatment can be seen to have ‘allergy-friendly’ benefits.
Is it really safe?
The U.S. military first developed Permethrin over twenty years ago to protect soldiers from insects in the jungle. And little wonder too. Throughout history, more soldiers have died from insect-borne disease than from battle.
Permethrin is a non-toxic, longer-lasting synthetic cousin to a natural insecticide found in chrysanthemum flowers. It’s a highly effective contact insecticide that kills insects when they come into contact with it. When textiles are treated properly, the efficacy of the treatment can be very long-lasting.
It is recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency, World Health Organization and the United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for killing or controlling insects. It is the active ingredient in many household insect repellents and head lice shampoos. In fact, Permethrin is the only pesticide approved by the EPA for the purpose of repelling and killing insects.
This permethrin-treated clothing treatment binds tightly to the fabric, resulting in minimal loss during washing and minimal transfer to the skin.
Importantly, treated garments pose minimal threat to the environment. They contain no heavy metals or leave harmful residues. When disposed of correctly the recycled fibres are not only biodegradable but they are reusable.
How long will insect repellent workwear last for?
Incidentally, exposure to water or perspiration will not significantly deteriorate the application. What reduces its efficacy is when the Permethrin application is washed in a washing machine as it knocks the molecules loose from the fabric.
Most commercially available insect repellent products provide protection for only 70 washes. The insect repellent products coming out of Bruxy protects workers for up to 100 washes.
Why choose Bruxy?
As a leading manufacturer of custom workwear, hi-vis uniforms and PPE, Bruxy is counted on to meet (or exceed) global safety standards – including employee identification, safety, high-tech cooling and warming fabrics. Combining this with our innovative insect repellent fabric technology lasting up to 100 washes, you now have a unique advantage.
Bruxy can work with your procurement team to custom manufacture workwear to meet your unique requirements and comply with high visibility standards. Whether that be for insect protection or fire retardant, Bruxy will take care of all the hassle, from material specification, to branding, to delivery to site.
Visit www.bruxy.com.au for more information on this innovative fabric technology.
