It’s a most timely garb for the busy executive who just might be paranoid over the infectious spread of the dreaded Influenza A H1N1 virus, also known as Swine Flu. A Japanese menswear company named Haruyama Trading has produced some 50,000 pieces of said suit that is ‘coated with titanium dioxide, a chemical commonly used in toothpaste and cosmetics and that breaks down when reacting with light, supposedly killing the virus upon contact.’
According to Shinto Hirata, vice director of merchandising at Haruyama, ‘the suit is proven to kill 40 percent of the latest flu virus in about three hours and will retain its protective capability even after being washed several times.’ He says, “If a person with the flu virus coughs, it might get on someone else’s suit and from there, another person might get infected. Small children might catch the virus after touching their father’s suit. We came up with this idea to protect all businessmen and their families.”
The suit was developed over a period of one year, as a joint research by several companies including Haruyama and Gaea, a company that has been specializing in anti-bacterial and deodorizing fabric coatings ‘for over 10 years.” Gaea applies similar protective coatings on commercially-available anti-flu face masks, towels, and physician’s apparels.
The suits start selling on Thursday. It comes in four colors and styles: medium grey, charcoal, navy, and a grey pinstripe. It costs around $590.
Posted by GSerrano on October 9, 2009 in Discoveries & Developments, Sci + Tech · 2 Comments
A lot of good the suit is going to do for ya when we all breath in the H1N1 same air. Rather handsome tho.
The design would look more like a hazmat suit if it covered the mouth, nose and eyes, but it might actually be effective then. What about the hands? Germs spread rapidly in public places where people put their hands, like bus poles.