Is Diesel’s antiviral jeans a hoax?

Denim sales have taken a steep hit amidst the pandemic among quarantined America. The brand Diesel is looking to recapture its audience with its latest “virus-fighting” jeans.

The denim brand recently revealed a new “ultra-innovation denim treatment” developed using the ViralOff technology introduced by the Swedish chemical company Polygiene. According to the Swedish company claims the technology has the ability to disable over 99% of viral activity within two hours of contact between pathogens and the fabric.

However, experts believe this is just another marketing strategy than an effective virus prevention shield.

Rachel Graham, an epidemiologist and an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill stated that the pants were more or less futile given that the virus transmission was more airborne and rarely spread through surface contact.

Graham continued to question the need for an antimicrobial-coated pair of jeans considering the spread of the virus is aerosol. She feels that Diesel’s overpriced jeans are giving the consumers a false sense of security.

She further states that there is no evidence proving that the virus spreads through surface textiles via the skin, buttocks, or genitals regions that jeans typically encase. She believes that these jeans are not safer than any other pair of pants.

An assistant professor at the University of Maine’s Department of Chemical, Caitlin Howell stated that consumers need to be extra cautious about products that make virus prevention claims.

She also stated that brands need to be careful and verify and validate new solutions as people rely on their effectiveness. As a scientist, she believes that there is no way the company knows the treatment to be 99% effective across various virus strands.