The shift toward longer garment lifespans is putting renewed focus on technologies that help consumers get more use from the products they already own. Beyond traditional sustainability messaging, brands are promoting freshness, comfort and durability as practical ways to support changed care habits and encourage longer use. New research from Polygiene highlights just how strongly consumers value these benefits—and points to opportunities well beyond performance apparel.
When surveyed, 78% of global consumers said they would be willing to pay more for odor control technology. When asked where they would most value this functionality, 75% selected everyday apparel as their first priority, 59% chose underwear and base layers as their second priority, and 50% selected sports and activewear as their third. Here, Dr. Sandrine Garnier, CEO, Polygiene, explains this important message for the industry.
HGI: Polygiene has long championed “Wear More. Wash Less.” as a sustainability strategy. How has that message evolved as brands and consumers look for more measurable environmental impact, yet are increasingly skeptical of sustainability claims?
Dr. Sandrine Garnier: The message is now about much more than reducing the number of times we do the laundry. Washing less saves water, energy and detergent, but it also reduces the physical wear caused by repeated washing. This helps garments retain their color, shape and performance for longer. Ultimately, the greatest environmental benefit comes from keeping products in use. When clothes remain fresh, comfortable and wearable for longer, people are more likely to wear them again, keep them for longer and replace them less frequently.
Brands and consumers are more critical of broad sustainability claims and rightfully so. We need to be specific about what a technology does, support claims with credible testing and avoid suggesting that one solution can address every environmental challenge. For us, the focus is on demonstrating a clear connection between freshness, changed care habits and longer product life.
HGI: As the textile industry balances performance, sustainability, compliance and cost, what are the biggest innovation opportunities and challenges over the next five years?
SG: The biggest opportunity is to create functionality that solves a genuine consumer problem while also encouraging more responsible use. Freshness, thermal comfort, durability and reduced fiber shedding can all help people enjoy products for longer, care for them differently and get more value from what they already own. There is also a significant opportunity to bring these benefits into everyday products, rather than limiting them to specialist or premium categories.
The most successful innovations will be those that are easy for consumers to understand and deliver a benefit they can genuinely feel or experience. The challenge is that innovation must now deliver on several fronts at once. It must perform reliably, be commercially viable, meet increasingly complex regulatory requirements and integrate easily into existing manufacturing processes. It must also be supported by clear and credible claims. A great idea in a laboratory is not enough. It needs to work consistently at industrial scale, across different fabrics, processes and supply chains, and it must add clear value for the brand, the manufacturer and, most importantly, the person using the product.
HGI: Which segments are driving the most innovation today, and where do you see the next wave of growth for Polygiene?
SG: We continue to see strong innovation in sports and outdoor, where consumers already understand the value of performance technologies. However, workwear is becoming increasingly important. Freshness and thermal comfort can make a real difference when someone is wearing the same uniform throughout a long shift, particularly in sectors such as public transport, healthcare and hospitality, where comfort, confidence and durability all matter.
We also see significant potential in everyday apparel. Feeling fresh and comfortable is not only relevant when exercising. It matters when people are commuting, traveling, working, meeting friends or simply going about their daily lives. The next wave of growth will therefore extend well beyond specialist performance clothing. As periods of extreme heat become more frequent, we expect growing demand for thermal comfort across everyday apparel, workwear and home textiles. At the same time, consumers are looking for products that are easier to care for and remain pleasant to use for longer. This creates opportunities for freshness technologies across a much broader range of categories.
HGI: Polygiene’s portfolio has expanded beyond odor control to include freshness, cooling and product protection. How do you decide which innovations to pursue, and what challenges are you looking to solve next?
SG: We start with the problem, not the technology. We work closely with more than 500 brand partners and listen carefully to what they, their manufacturers and their consumers need. We also follow regulatory developments closely, because there is little value in developing a solution that will not remain relevant or compliant in the markets where our partners operate. We then consider whether a potential innovation is effective, durable, commercially scalable and easy to integrate into existing production.
It also needs to address a problem that people recognize and care about. OdorCrunch 2.0, for example, responds to the need for effective odor capture on challenging modern fabrics, including lightweight polyester. StayCool addresses the growing need for thermal comfort as people experience warmer conditions at work, during travel and in everyday life. Across the Group, the common thread is helping products remain fresh, comfortable and useful for longer, while using fewer resources throughout their lifetime. Looking ahead, we will continue to focus on the issues that most affect how long people keep and use products, including odour, heat, durability and ease of care.
HGI: If you could change one mindset in the apparel and textile industry today, what would it be?
SG: I would challenge the assumption that added functionality is mainly relevant to activewear or simply represents an additional cost. Good functionality brings real value to everyday life. It can improve comfort, confidence and the experience of wearing a product, while also helping that product remain in use for longer.
Consumers do not see freshness only as a specialist feature for athletes or outdoor enthusiasts. They see it as part of everyday comfort and confidence. The opportunity is to bring meaningful and well explained functionality into the clothes people wear most often, rather than reserving innovation for a relatively narrow group of performance products.
