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VOLLEBAK FULL METAL JACKET R18 650 / vollebak.com I know Liverpool are the team of the moment, but are shellsuits really back in fashion? Calm down, calm down. You’re more likely to see this on the streets of east London than Merseyside – but it’s not just a questionable item of clothing. Embedded in the three-layer fabric of Vollebak’s Full Metal Jacket, you’ll find 11km of woven copper that could hold the key to the future of disease-resistant clothing.
So this has nothing to do with Kubrick’s Vietnam War classic? No, and strictly speaking it’s not even ‘full metal’, considering it only comprises 65% copper; but the metal’s ability to conduct heat and power is also perfect for killing bacteria and viruses. It’s the perfect jacket then? Can I wear it year-round? Not quite. The jacket is breathable, but this is designed to keep you
warm during winter. In South Africa’s sweltering summers, you’ll need something a bit less… insulated.
astronauts, thanks to a partnership with a US/Chilean company called Copper 3D.
Is there some science behind this? Copper is an underrated material: early civilisations like the Egyptians used it to make medical instruments and sterilise water way before we used it to wire speakers. And now NASA has wised up to the genius of this wonder-metal and is using it to create medical devices for
So this jacket can kill Covid-19? Well, its antimicrobial properties mean bacteria and viruses die when they make contact with it, wiping out their DNA so they can’t develop future resistance. That means it could kill coronavirus in theory… but to be clear, this hasn’t been tested. Yet.
COPPER’S PROPERTIES MAKE IT PERFECT FOR KILLING BACTERIA AND VIRUSES
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