As parts of the world reopen, retailers are beginning to experiment with new protocols that balance safety, distance and sanitization, with shopping experiences compelling enough for virus-weary consumers.
In Paris, items that have been tried on at Le Bon Marche are steam treated and isolated for several hours before being returned to the racks. In Milan, security guards monitor the number of customers entering the store via an app, and in Los Angeles, retailers remain limited to curbside pickup.
Players in the denim supply chain, however, are doing their part to help quell those concerns, and potentially protect shoppers and employees, by adapting their technologies for the purpose of sanitization.
Garment and finishing machinery company Tonello recently launched SaniCare, a suite of sanitizing technology that uses ozone to sanitize and disinfect items at various stages, from manufacturing facilities to the shop floor.
The disinfecting technology can be installed on all of Tonello’s washing and dying machines. This can be done by retrofitting machines with a specific ozone technology and in a software upgrade. For those that already use Tonello’s ozone technology like Ofree, ECOfree or ECOfree 2, they can upgrade their software to include a santization function.
SaniCare also includes a new range of static cabinets for sanitizing and disinfecting garments, accessories, and protective devices. The easy-to-use cabinets are available in different sizes for commercial needs, meaning store employees can disinfect garments and accessories like shoes and bags between try-ons in approximately 15 minutes. All a retailer needs to set up is an electrical connection.
With this technology, customers, Tonello stated, can try on clothes “with complete confidence that there are no dangerous viruses, fungi, dermatitis, or other annoying dermatological contaminations lurking on the garments.”
The level of interest in sanitization is high, Alice Tonello, head of marketing and R&D for Tonello, told Rivet, as the industry seeks effective ways to regain consumers’ trust after several weeks or months living beneath shelter-in-place orders due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Eventually, we believe that the SaniCare technology will help in giving consumers a safe, serene and stress-free experience,” she said.
