Step in right direction for shoe firms?
‘PRODUCT CAN SLOW VIRUS SPREAD’
INDEPENDENT researchers say an anti-viral product made by a Leicester business could help shoe companies slow the spread of Covid-19 in the manufacturing process.
A team at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) worked with the British Footwear Association to look at the impact of antibacterial coatings made by Micro-Fresh on a virus similar to Covid-19.
The researchers said when leather was treated with Micro-Fresh’s product it took the survival time of coronavirus from 24-48 hours to two hours. There was also no transmission from the antiviral coated leathers to other surfaces two hours after contamination of the leathers. They hope the study will help the shoe industry to recover from the effects of Covid-19 by understanding for the first time how the coronavirus behaves on leather.
The British Footwear Association represents the smallest artisan shoemakers to the largest and best-known brands in the world, to test samples of leathers used for shoes.
The traditional shoemaking process involves many different stages and researchers looked at the possibility of transmitting infection down the line – and how long the virus could remain on material throughout the manufacturing process.
The team, led by DMU microbiologist Dr Katie Laird, head of the Infectious Disease Research Group, and virologist Dr Maitreyi Shivkumar, looked at how the virus survived on different types of shoe leather and crosscontamination on surfaces such as stainless steel (used in sewing machines) and cardboard to assess transfer from shoes in a shoe box.
This study used a human coronavirus OC43, which the team has previously shown to have a similar survival pattern to that of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. They found OC43 was able to survive on some leathers for up to 48 hours and could be transmitted to shoe boxes and stainless steel surfaces during the manufacturing process.
Lucy Reece Raybould, chief executive of the British Footwear Association, said: “I am pleased this study has found some concrete information for the footwear industry that can now be transformed into actionable guidance to boost consumer confidence and give customers greater peace of mind.”
Micro-Fresh is an anti-microbial treatment which prevents bacteria and odours on products ranging from shoes to socks, bed line and towels.
At the start of the pandemic MicroFresh chief executive Byron Dixon told the Mercury interest in his products had shot up. He said companies can coat their own products with his products during manufacturing.