Textile antimicrobial testing and standards

In the hierarchy of human needs, clothing ranks second top most priority next to food. The use of textile for clothing known to mankind from primitive age was gradually extended to household and domestic applications with progressive civilizations. Clothing which served mere protection has changed to "Health Based Clothing". Now, there is a good deal of demand for the fabrics having functional /speciality finishes in general but antimicrobial finishes in particular to protect human being against microbes is the need of the hour. The application of antimicrobial textile finishes include a wide range of textile products for medical, technical, industrial, home furnishing and apparel sectors. At present there are lots of potential in antimicrobial finish application on textiles. This paper summarizes a comprehensive view of antimicrobial finishing and the required standard assessment.