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An escape into nature, a stress-reducer, a way to socialize or just a beloved habit since childhood: hiking has long outgrown its niche as an activity for retirees, and many young people are now enthusiastic hikers. Perhaps the temptation of a stop at a mountain inn has contributed to this boom.

If only there wasn’t that unpleasant odor. You broke a sweat on the strenuous ascent—and now there’s this smell emanating from your T-shirt, and maybe even from the jacket you’re wearing over it.

And if you’re combining the adventure of a multi-day trek with an overnight stay in a mountain hut, you know what awaits you upon entering: the smell emitted by a row of sweaty hiking boots. Because hiking boots must be removed inside the hostel. After which you don a pair of slippers over your well-travelled socks, worn by who knows how many guests before you…

The mountain hut experience doesn’t need to be tainted like this. Stinky T-shirts are just as unnecessary as foul-smelling hiking boots. Many manufacturers of sports apparel, equipment, shoes and shoe inserts are developing odor-free products and enhancing these items with the antimicrobial Sanitized® hygiene function. These are easily recognizable by the blue diamond on the product. 

Speaking of unpleasant: if you’ve ever taken a public train or bus on a hot summer day, or held on to a handrail or strap in a cable car, you may have found yourself wondering—when was that handle cleaned last? However, it would be so easy to make mass transit vehicles clean and safe. Antimicrobial protection on seat upholstery or coating on handles prevent microbes from getting a foothold and spreading. SANITIZED AG, the Swiss specialists for the hygiene function in textiles and plastics, offers customized solutions here as well.