According to the company, the new brand, INTELLIFRESH, will be prominently featured by manufacturers in a variety of consumer product categories. These will include socks, t-shirts, underwear, sports and fitness apparel, athletic gear and equipment, workwear, footwear, home textiles and bedding, furniture, carpet, cleaning and deodorizing products and laundry aids.

Odour control

Initial products featuring the INTELLIFRESH label will be treated with Dow’s patented SILVADUR technology. This technology is designed to intelligently inhibit the growth and minimize the presence of unwanted odour-causing and nuisance bacteria that are prominent on consumer goods, enabling them to stay fresher longer.

“The growing desire of consumers for solutions to control odours has become an increasingly important trend in the marketplace and has changed their priorities when they purchase products,” said Karel Williams, global strategic marketing associate director and brand manager for Dow Microbial Control.

“The INTELLIFRESH label will give consumers peace of mind that the products they are buying support their attitudes, expectations and perceptions about hygiene and fit the lifestyles they are striving to achieve.”

Focus on hygiene

The recent proprietary Dow research highlighted the increasing consumer emphasis on hygienic lifestyles and practices. According to the research, more than 60% of consumers surveyed indicated a very high concern about bacteria, parasites, dust, mould and the like in the home.

In addition, 60% of those surveyed, who do not currently own products with odour-protection properties, are interested in future purchases of products with durable protection against odour- or infection-causing bacteria, the company reports.

Quality assurance programme

INTELLIFRESH is available to select manufacturers and retailers of consumer goods who collaborate with Dow through a licensing and quality assurance programme.

The quality assurance programme is designed to ensure that all products featuring the INTELLIFRESH label meet measurable and quantifiable performance standards, specifications and quality protocols and comply with industry and regulatory requirements.

Dow Microbial Control

Dow Microbial Control aims to provide long-term viable and sustainable microbial control. Its offering provides customers with solutions to optimize formulations, including a high performing and technically supported selection of registered actives and products.

Dow, an owner of the Dow Microbial Control business unit, is driving innovations that extract value from material, polymer, chemical and biological science to help address problems such as the need for clean water, clean energy generation and conservation and increasing agricultural productivity.

Dow's integrated, market-driven portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions in high-growth sectors such as packaging, electronics, water, coatings and agriculture.

www.dowmicrobialcontrol.com

www.dow.com