Towels are easy to breed bacteria in a humid environment for a long time, and these bacteria will pose a threat to people's health. Antibacterial towels are favored by consumers because they can effectively inhibit the growth, reproduction or inactivation of bacteria. So what is the "antibacterial effect" of antibacterial towels in fact?
In order to respond to consumer concerns and guide scientific consumption, from February to June 2023, the Shenzhen Municipal Consumer Council conducted a comparative test on commercially available antibacterial towel products, which was inspected by Shenzhen Yingbai Testing Technology Co., Ltd. to evaluate 20 antibacterial towel products purchased in offline supermarkets and online e-commerce platforms.
Test samples and items
Combined with the previous market research (brand awareness, platform sales, etc.), the staff of the Shenzhen Consumer Council purchased a total of 20 samples of antibacterial towels claiming to have antibacterial effects in offline supermarkets such as Tianhong, China Resources Vanguard, Yonghui Supermarket and other offline supermarkets such as Tianhong, China Resources Vanguard, Yonghui Supermarket, as well as online platforms such as Tmall, Jingdong, Vipshop, Pinduoduo, etc., including 6 offline supermarkets and 14 online e-commerce platforms, involving Philf, Tuqiang, Magpie, Cotton Times, MINISO, Zhixin, Jinhao, Kang Erxin, Inno, Hengyuanxiang, Most Life, Sanli, Jielia, Lekou Le Kou, Jieyu, Bananai, HOYO, Jingto-made, NetEase Yanxuan, Jingyu Weiyan, a total of 20 domestic and foreign brands, the price ranges from 8.57 yuan to 46.40 yuan.
Samples of 20 antibacterial towels
At present, most of the antibacterial towel products on the market indicate that they have antibacterial effect in the product packaging or label, and the explicit implementation standards mainly include GB/T 22864-2020 "Towel", FZ/T 62015-2009 "Antibacterial Towel", and some products implement group standards or enterprise standards. This comparative test is based on FZ/T 62015-2009 "Antibacterial towel" and explicit product standards on the antibacterial effect of antibacterial towels (Staphylococcus aureus bacteriostatic rate, Escherichia coli bacteriostatic rate, pneumonia bacillus bacteriostatic rate), label identification (instructions for use) and other 2 aspects of a total of 4 indicators, by converting laboratory data into scores according to certain scoring standards, and then converting the scores into stars according to weight distribution, the results are indicated by "★", the more stars mean the better the results, Samples of the same star are ranked in no particular order.
Quick overview of test results
Antibacterial effect: After 50 washes of 20 samples, the antibacterial rate test results of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and pneumoniae bacteria met the requirements of relevant standards; Among them, the bacteriostatic rate of Staphylococcus aureus in 20 samples was not less than 98%, the bacteriostatic rate of E. coli in 7 samples was not less than 95%, and the bacteriostatic rate of Pneumonia bacillus in 2 samples was not less than 90%.
Label identification: 17 samples have complete information in the instructions for use, and 3 samples have different degrees of information missing, such as not indicating the antibacterial level of the product, not indicating the product type or specification, and the text used is not the standard Chinese characters stipulated by the state.
Among the 20 antibacterial towel samples tested this time, 4 samples performed well and were rated five stars, namely Hengyuanxiang, Cotton Times, Jinhao, and Inner Field brand samples.
Compare test results
▼Antibacterial effect
Antibacterial towel with good bacteriostatic rate can inhibit the growth, reproduction or inactivation of bacteria on the fabric, reduce the probability of bacterial infection, and better protect human health. According to FZ/T 62015-2009 "Antibacterial towel" standard, antibacterial towels are divided into AA grade and AAA level two antibacterial levels according to the number of washes, and some group standards extend AAAA or even higher antibacterial levels on the basis of this standard. This comparative test compares the antibacterial effect of 20 samples according to FZ/T 62015-2009 "Antibacterial towel".
The antibacterial index requirements of "Antibacterial towel"
Staphylococcus aureus: Staphylococcus aureus is widely found in nature and is a common pathogenic bacterium that can cause purulent inflammation, toxin diseases and other infections. The results showed that the antibacterial rate of Staphylococcus aureus was not less than 98% after 50 washes of 20 samples, which was excellent.
Escherichia coli: E. coli is a normal habitat in the intestines of humans and animals, and some special serotypes of E. coli can cause gastrointestinal infections or other diseases in humans. The results showed that after 50 washes of 20 samples, the test results of E. coli inhibitory rate met the requirements of relevant standards, and 7 samples had E. coli bacteriostatic rate of not less than 95%, which performed excellently, namely Bananai, Philf, Jingyu Undyed, Cotton Era, HOYO, Hengyuanxiang, and Jinhao brand samples.
Bacteriostatic rate of 20 samples of E. coli
Pneumonia bacillus: Pneumobsiella, also known as Klebsiella pneumoniae, which exists in the respiratory tract and intestinal flora of healthy people, when the body's resistance decreases, it enters the lungs through the respiratory tract to cause disease, and is one of the main pathogens causing human respiratory diseases. The results showed that after 50 washes of 20 samples, the antibacterial rate test results of Pneumococcus bacillus met the requirements of relevant standards, and the antibacterial rate of 2 samples of Pneumococcus bacillus was not less than 90%, which was excellent, respectively, Hengyuanxiang and the most life brand samples.
20 samples of pneumoniae bacteria inhibitory rate
▼Label identification
Label identification (instructions for use) is information that conveys to the user how to use the product correctly and safely, as well as the product functions, basic performance, and characteristics related to it. The relevant standards for textile products stipulate that the instructions for use should meet the requirements of the GB/T 5296.4-2012 "Instructions for use of consumer goods Part 4: Textiles and clothing" standard. FZ/T 62015-2009 "Antibacterial towel" standard requires that antibacterial towels should also be marked with the antibacterial level of the product in a prominent position of the product.
The results showed that among the 20 samples, the instructions for use of 17 samples met the requirements of relevant standards, and the instructions for use of the samples of the clean domain undyed, HOYO and Lekou brand samples had different degrees of missing information, such as not indicating the antibacterial level of the product, not indicating the product number or specification, the washing graphic symbol on the durability label was not standardized, or the text was not the normative Chinese character stipulated by the state.
20 antibacterial towel test summary table
Consumption reminders
Look at the logo: When purchasing antibacterial towels, consumers should pay attention to check the identification (instructions for use) information of the product, such as fiber composition and content, antibacterial level, etc. According to the F2/T 62015 "Antibacterial towel" standard, the higher the antibacterial level of the towel, the better the corresponding antibacterial effect. When consumers buy, pay attention to review and combine their own needs to buy.
Smell: Textiles use a variety of chemical finishing agents in printing and dyeing and finishing processing, and if the processing process is improper, it is easy to lead to chemical residue. Consumers are advised not to buy antibacterial towels with pungent odor to avoid affecting their health due to excessive chemicals.
Regular replacement: Antibacterial towels are generally made by adding antibacterial agents or using antibacterial fibers in the towel production process, which may be reduced or destroyed with the increase in the number of uses, resulting in a decrease in antibacterial effect. Consumers are advised to change towels every 2-3 months, and if they find that the towels appear moldy or hardened, they should replace them immediately.
[Special Statement]: The information used in this content comes from the authoritative official website. If the relevant sampling results and data are verified and confirmed by the relevant government departments and confirmed to have changed the facts, please contact this journal in time.