Executive summary

Cleancloth Project

Evidence supports the fact that contagious diseases caused by microbial contamination attributes to significant social and economical issues, and that diseases are rising in the home setting. It is also a known fact that infections lead to serious illnesses resulting in numerous hospitalizations and high rates of absences at work, thus straining the economy. Implementing green cleaning means using alternative products and using them correctly. This reduces the use and misuse of cleaning chemicals, thereby reducing the negative impact on human health and the environment. The combination of these factors led to the initiation of the Cleancloth project whose objective was to develop a superior cleaning cloth with constant and continuous antibacterial effect to ensure no bacteria is left in the cloth and making bacterial re-growth impossible without the need for special and time-consuming hygiene procedures.

The Cleancloth project, funded by the European Union, started in December of 2009 and concluded on March 31, 2012. The European Union’s aim is to strengthen the ‘innovation capacity’ of enterprise through research, extension of networks and acquisition of technological knowledge in an effort to bridge the gap between research and innovation. The Cleancloth project was led by Bjorn Nicolaisen, Chairman of Norwex.

Thorough and extensive research, methodology and analytics were applied to improve the antibacterial effect of the microfiber cloth during the 27 month project. The findings, although still in the development stage, offer the potential for significant improvements in future production of antibacterial microfiber. With ongoing research, testing and product development there is considerable evidence to support the hope of a new, revolutionary antibacterial cloth.