Your Cell Phone is Filthy - Here's How Your Pocket Can Help
After diving head-first into the untapped realm of innovative hemp technologies, we uncovered the most significant clothing development in decades - fashionable and sustainable protective apparel.
Hemp-based technology is forging a new wave of advanced textiles.
Antimicrobial Athleisure Wear
Synthetic fibers like polyester, nylon, and acrylic make up about 60% of clothing worldwide and are prevalent in clothing thanks to their stretch, durability, and breathability. Unfortunately, synthetic fibers are prone to significantly worse bacterial growth than cotton or other natural fibers. Ever forget about a pair of workout clothes, to later find it a biohazard?
Imagine yoga pants and gym shorts that have bacteria-killing properties built into the garment - or how about a pants pocket made from antimicrobial fibers that quickly disinfects anything you put in it - like a cell phone?
Technologically Advanced Sustainable Fibers
Introducing HEMP BLACK / fusion, created through a patented process utilizing advanced seed genetics and certified organic growing farms to procure a proprietary, premium hemp extract.
We fuse this hemp extract with advanced sustainable polymers (like recycled polyester); we call the resulting fiber HEMP BLACK / element - but that's just the beginning.
'Cupron copper' is similar to HEMP BLACK / element in that it has been embedded at the source; the only difference being instead of infusing hemp extract, we use copper.
To create a fiber like Nylon, small pellets are melted down and pushed through a spinneret, coming out as long, narrow strands on the other side. We infuse our hemp extract or copper with these beads before they go through the spinneret, ensuring even dispersal of these active substances throughout the entirety of the Nylon.
This micron-level embedding technology stands in stark contrast to the process used to create other ‘antimicrobial’ fibers*. They are most often made via a spray-on or top-coating process (up to 90% of silver technology washes out within ten cycles). Since we intertwine the copper and hemp extract into the fibers' cellular network, the germ-killing effects last for the lifetime of the garment.
HEMP BLACK / fusion is a synergistic union of HEMP BLACK / element and Cupron copper. The embedded hemp extract and antimicrobial copper technology give rise to a sustainable, strategically engineered fiber that is gentle and soothing with odor-neutralizing performance - with no need to compromise on style, comfort, or functionality.
Mobile Devices and Microbes
To demonstrate HEMP BLACK / fusion's efficacy, we have created the world's first germicidal pocket. Many have heard the rumor that the typical cell phone harbors 10x more bacteria than your average toilet seat or shoe bottom (confirmed true by scientists at the University of Arizona) - yikes!
Americans check their phones about 47 times a day - that’s an abundance of opportunities to introduce new microbes to our electronic companions. Besides being handled frequently, cell phones are often held close to the face and mouth, which is bad news for anyone interested in limiting potential exposure to contagious viruses.
This isn’t to say that all the microbes on our phones are pathogens that can make us sick - the majority are more or less harmless and commonly found on healthy human bodies.
However, of 100 cell phones collected at Western University of São Paulo/ Brazil*, 40% had Staphylococcus aureus (also known as MRSA, a dangerous antibiotic-resistant strain of Staph). This germ can cause skin infections, pneumonia, blood infections, and more. Of all the bacteria found on these 100 phones, a whopping 85% were resistant to penicillin.
The issue is that many have concerns surrounding the use of water or liquid disinfectants on their devices, fearing that it could damage or break the delicate components inside. In fact, until the recent outbreak of COVID-19, major tech companies such as Apple and Samsung warned against the use of any alcohol-based wipes and similar disinfectants to clean devices.
How frustrating, then, to think of all the healthcare workers who have admitted to not washing their hands after using their cell phone. Likely, we are all guilty of this type of behavior. Cell phone usage has become so synonymous with being a human that many may not consider the risks posed by a dirty mobile device.
The Revolutionary Disinfecting Pocket
Imagine placing your cell phone in your pocket, forgetting about it for 20 minutes, and voila! Your phone is sanitized. That is what we are discussing today - take a look at the following photograph.
For this experiment, we swabbed three phones with sterile cotton (to achieve baseline colonization) and transferred each swab to a clean agar plate. We then pocketed each phone for 20 minutes in three different materials and then repeated the procedure. The three pocket materials used were:
- Control: 100% cotton (washed)
- HB / F Black: Cupron copper inside - HEMP BLACK / element outside
- HB / F Blue: HEMP BLACK / element inside - Cupron copper outside
- We allowed the plates to incubate for five days, with the laboratory at 82°F and 70% room humidity.
- The control phone (kept in the regular cotton pocket) continued to grow more bacteria after 20 minutes (compared to baseline).
- The experimental phones (kept in Hemp Black pockets) grew considerably fewer bacteria on the agar after 20 minutes (compared to baseline).
[Note: We do not know which organisms were grown (or killed), as the agar used supports various microorganisms.]
Our advanced fabric consisting of sustainable fibers infused with hemp extract sanitizes the high-touch surface of devices between texts, calls, and social media feed scrolls. This embedded technology is not applied topically, meaning no matter how many times you wash your pants, your pocket will remain your best defense against phone-based germs.
The Bottom Line
The implications for this are enormous. Imagine having a pocket that functions as a sanitizing apparatus for things we constantly touch (and then don’t wash our hands) - car keys, wallet, chapstick, change, cash, and headphones. Functional, convenient, and freeing.
This pocket has the potential to radically enhance our ability to stay protected (and protect others) from the trillions of unwanted microbes present on all of our everyday items, making the world a safer place - one garment at a time.
