Microbial Wool Clothing

Wool clothing brand Ruskovilla has created a line of woollen undergarments containing beneficial microbes.

Ruskovilla has worked with Uute Scientific to infuse its Reconnecting Nature™ forest microbe extract into under-shirts and accessories for adults and children. The brands state the extract helps support the immune system and is proven to help prevent type 1 diabetes, allergies, asthma and similar diseases from developing in children. The extract is effective in undergarments which have close prolonged contact with skin.

Consumers have a growing interest in beneficial microbes and bacteria, as they wish to improve gut health and boost their immune system. The pandemic made consumers more aware of hygiene and their health, and further drove consumers to look for ways to support the immune system. To help consumers do this, we have seen brands launch food and drink with added vitamins and probiotics, personal care products that don’t disturb the skin's natural microbiome and household products that don’t kill beneficial bacteria in the home.

The pandemic shifted how consumers think about health and wellness. Thanks to new research consumers have greater knowledge of how our increasingly sterile living spaces may link to weakened immune systems and how this affects our health, for example with the development of allergies. To counter this, we will see greater demand for products with probiotics and microbe extracts that help consumers cultivate a strong microbiota and immune system. Brands will find opportunities to position other categories, such as clothing, as having the potential to support consumers' health and immune systems.