November 2010

1. November 2010 Norwex Microfiber

2. About Microfiber There are many microfiber products currently on the market making it complicated for the consumer to determine what the difference is between one product and the next.  While at first microfiber may appear similar; compare the quality.  • Find out if the products are machine washable and for how many washes they are guaranteed to last. Any product which recommends hand washing only, or the recommended washing temperature at 40oC indicates they may be of lesser quality. • Look at the edges of the cloths; if the edges are not finished well they may fray when washed, reducing the lifespan of the cloth. • Prices for microfiber cloths are usually directly related to the quality of the product. If the price is lower, it may indicate a lesser quality.

3. Why Norwex Microfiber? • Norwextakes Corporate Social Responsibility seriously and Norwex China is committed to follow the guidelines of the UN Global Compact on how they treat and manage staff involved in the production of microfiber, including our suppliers. • All staff are Norwex employees and enjoy all the benefits associated with being part of the Norwex Team. • Quality - Minimum 1/100 fiber counts and high quality. Every microfiber piece produced by Norwex must meet the quality control standard to be shipped. • Two year warranty - Guaranteed for 2 years or 500 washings 95o C when using Norwex care instructions. • Antibacterial - This allows the cloths to remain cleaner. 

4. Why Made in China?? • Some of the best and comprehensive home textile and microfiber production in the world is in China. • If you are going to create the best microfiber in the world you go to the best microfiber manufacturers. • Norwex owns the factory in China and has a very strict quality control system in place • Norwex has stringent requirements which controls everything from the raw material requirements to conformance levels and each production is evaluated strictly according to our standards. • Testing is continuously done to ensure a quality product. • Any product not meeting the standard are not used and are recycled.

5. Microfiber vs Traditional Fibers? • Norwex’s tiny microfibers are small enough to get into small crevices and pick up liquids, dirt and bacteria. • Norwex microfiber is about 100 times thinner than a human hair, yet incredibly durable if properly cared for . • Microfiber products contain many small pockets of space that traps liquids, dirt and bacteria, and it is this that makes the cloth able to hold seven times its weight in liquid, dirt and bacteria. • The heavier the weight, and hence more pockets of space, of the fabric per square meter, the more matter it can hold.

6. Norwex Microfiber? It is the splitting rate of the fiber that gives the fabric better absorbency.

7. How Microfiber Works? Microfiber when used properly picks up matter even from a surface’s microscopic pores to achieve a real CLEAN. Traditional cleaning methods apply chemicals to a surface thereby disinfecting that surface, however some dirt remains in surface pores.

8. Facts on Norwex Microfiber? • Norwex microfiber has a size of 0.13 denier or approximately 69,230 meters of fiber per gram. • Norwex microfiber is composed of polyester and polyamide. • To be considered microfiber, something has to be only 1/14th of a hair in thickness; Norwex microfiber is equivalent to about 1/100th of a hair in thickness. • There are 2.9 million meters of that fiber in an Enviro cloth. Stretched out this would go from Dauphin, Manitoba, Canada, south across the USA to the Gulf of Mexico! • Simple Rule of Thumb:“Use water to clean with microfiber, use soap and water to clean microfiber.”

9. What is Antibac Microfiber?? • Norwex Antibac Microfiber is one of the most innovative products in the industry! • Norwex uses an antibacterial silver-based agent which is melted in with the fiber during production. • The silver antibacterial fiber has self-purification properties which means cleaner cloths, less frequent laundering and reduction in cross-contamination.

10. How Does Silver Work?? • Silver interrupts a cell’s ability to form chemical bonds essential to its survival. Bacteria, viruses and fungi need the bonds for their oxygen metabolism. Essentially the organism is inactivated. • The silver-based agent that Norwex uses is several times larger thannano-particles. The difference is that nano- particles are significantly smaller than micro particles. Micro- particles are too large to be able to pass through skin pores. • In lab testing, when bacteria come into contact with this agent, results have shown 99.9% of them are no longer active after 24 hours.

11. Norwex Silver-based Agent? • Norwex uses micro-silver, which is so small that you are unable to see it without a microscope, yet it is unable to cross through cells simply because it is too large. Micro-silver is also more stable than nano-silver. • The agent does NOT affect cleaning ability but does inhibit growth of bacteria in/on the microfibers. • The silver-based agent works best WET. When used dry and then laundered, the silver ions will be activated.

12. Limiting Factor? • One limiting factor of silver is that it only deactivates micro-organisms when these micro-organisms come in contact with it for a sufficient period of time. • Cloths that have residual chemicals, fabric softeners, salts (including hard water softeners) or soapy residues on the fibers can prevent the silver to come into contact with germs within the cloths. These residues could “coat” the fiber keeping the silver and micro-organisms separated. • Adhering to Norwex care instructions are important.

13. Science? • When we say greater than 99.9% removal, we are referring to removal of bacteria from the surface just cleaned. • There have also been tests done on the microfiber cloths after laundering which results show that most bacteria are removed upon washing. This is even more so now that we have the silver agent embedded within the fiber. • Norwex microfiber is designed to be used dry if the surface is just dusty as dry cleaning is more effective for dust removal.

14. Testing? • The silver-based inorganic antimicrobial agent, is effective in inhibiting the growth of the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) virus. The efficacy of the silver agent has been confirmed by an independent test lab. • The silver-based inorganic antimicrobial agent has been recognized as demonstrating excellent antimicrobial performance compared to similar agents in textiles, as well as a high degree of safety, including having been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

15. Controlled Lab Conditions? • Due to the nature of bacteria, all tests were conducted in a controlled laboratory environment, and as such, are not a 100% true representation of normal living environment. • As such, it is not known if the same results are true in uncontrolled normal living environments; such as office buildings, schools, private homes etc.

16. Do Chemicals Kill Germs?? • Some chemicals are specific which means they target some germs but not others. The benefit of Norwex microfiber cloths is that they pick up dirt, grime, grease, bacteria and microorganisms and are not specific. • With commercial cleaners, unless you are following exact label cleaning instructions, which usually means leaving the solution wet on a surface for a given amount of time, you are not guaranteed a disinfected surface.

17. Chemicals - New and Improved? • When using chemical cleaners, you have killed some bacteria, but may have spread some bacteria to other surfaces. The bacteria left behind is continually multiplying because it thrives in the warm, wet areas. Some bacteria can become accustomed to conventional chemicals. Studies have shown over time that cleaners become less effective from when originally introduced, making the need for more potent chemicals to be developed in order to obtain the same cleaning results. • This results in NEW IMPROVED VERSIONS.

18. Feiring Clinic? • The Feiring Clinic (which specializes in treating adult heart patients and conducts about 25% of all of the open heart surgeries in Norway) uses microfiber products in the entire hospital.  • This hospital conducted a long-term study . • Testing conducted by the hospital concluded that microfiber cleaning products (mops and cloths) used in regular cleaning routines, in the kitchen, patient’s and surgery wards and in common areas produced excellent results. 

19. The End Result? • Norwex has a unique and innovative product with long lasting, highly effective antibacterial effect. • The Norwex antibacterial microfiber has been proven to be effective against several bacteria and viral strains in independent testing. • Norwex microfibers cloths are easy to use, long lasting, cost efficient and environmentally friendly.

20. Summary? • Norwex Microfiber is produced under corporately responsible conditions in accordance with United Nations regulations. • Quality - Minimum 1/100 fiber counts and high quality. • Two year warranty - Guaranteed for 2 years or 500 washings when using Norwex care instructions. • Antibacterial - This allows the cloths to remain cleaner.