Ciba Chemicals Offers UV Protection Additive for Fabric Softeners

24 May 1999 00:00  [Source: ICB Americas]

By Helena Harvilicz

Ciba Specialty Chemicals' consumer care division has launched a new ultraviolet light absorbing ingredient. Tinosorb FR for fabric softeners is similar to the company's existing product, Tinosorb FD for laundry detergents, and other products the company supplies for textile finishing.

UV protectors are one of Ciba's core competencies. "We've applied UV absorbers in many different areas," says Bob Myers, head of fabric care at Ciba. "They go into plastics and end uses such as sunglasses, and we're a manufacturer and supplier of UV absorbers for personal care.

"But all our UV absorbers have to operate differently in the given conditions that they're under. With the laundry additives, we've made them effective by incorporating some of the same mechanisms in our whiteners. We're also very big in optical whiteners."

The product works by binding onto laundered fibers, where it accumulates through repeating washings. Good protection is achieved after only a few rinse cycles, according to Ciba.

Tinosorb FR is a first-of-its-kind product and the company is starting a new market by introducing the additive. There are currently no consumer laundry products that offer UV protection, Mr. Myers notes.

Data from Information Resources, a Chicago, Ill.-based consultancy, put US sales of fabric softeners at more than $775 million per year. There is not enough information to gauge the potential market for UV fabric softeners in the US or throughout the world, Mr. Myers says.

Nevertheless, Ciba is confident about the product. The company expects its UV laundry protectors to follow the same trajectory as its optical whiteners, which are now common in laundry detergents.

Potential customers for Tinosorb FR include the major global, national and regional laundry product manufacturers. Such companies are already interested in the additive because of consumers' concerns about skin cancer and other harmful effects of UV rays, according to Mr. Myers.

"It's a unique product," he says. "Home laundry products have never really ventured into this area. We've generated a lot of interest from dermatologists, skin cancer organizations and our customers. They're eager to try it because it's new and different, but they're equally cautious."

Soapers in the US are currently testing the concept, but Mr. Myers says that some firms outside the US are further along in the development process.

There are a number of challenges to marketing UV laundry products. One is consumer education. "Many people aren't aware that sunscreens generally provide much greater protection than typical cotton T-shirts," Mr. Myers says.

A typical summer-weight shirt can have a sun protection factor (SPF) of as little as five. Doctors recommend sunscreens with an SPF of 15 or higher.

Other challenges include the inherent limitations of fabrics and the way the UV additive works. "Our customers are asking, 'Are you ever going to see an SPF label on a laundry product?' No, you won't see that."

Mr. Myers explains that although laundry products with UV absorbers will increase the protection of most garments, the amount of protection a particular garment affords depends on multiple factors including the density of the weave and the fiber type and color.

Tinosorb FR works best on cotton and cotton blends. Mr. Myers notes that cotton is one of the fibers that offers the least UV protection on its own, as opposed to wool and polyester.

Although Tinosorb FR may guard clothing against fading, it is more effective on some dyes than others, and Ciba is currently focusing on the product's ability to protect the skin. "We think this is a much stronger, much more beneficial claim for a UV absorber," says Mr. Myers.

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