Rational or not, the affect has seen a major jump in laundering under the pandemic. A survey by Polygiene® shows that 3 out of 4 people say they wash more now due to concerns of viruses and 1 out of 3 wash “significantly” more. The 20% increase we see in people’s everyday washing habits is essential to understand. Washing takes time and is inconvenient, but more importantly it puts a huge strain on the environment. It would be roughly the equivalent of over 3.5 million more cars on the road. With the additional washing that occurs; microplastics, water waste, chemical discharge and energy use are the net outcome.
This is concerning. 3.5 million cars in the US can be compared to Tesla whom at the end of 2019 had sold 891,000 cars since 2012.
Polygiene offers one tool for consumers to wash only when needed. Polygiene ViralOff® treatment is a finish on the textile that reduces viruses by over 99% in two hours. But the big impact must come from general awareness among the public and we encourage all parties that can help to do so.
For more information and the full article: https://virologyj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12985-020-01418-7
