Ep. 119: Advancing medical textiles

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Ep. 119: Advancing medical textiles

The Textile Innovation Podcast speaks with Jordan Schindler, CEO and founder of Clothing 2.0.

WTiN: Hello and welcome to textile innovation hosted by WTiN My name is Abi, and I'm the Features Editor and your podcast host. Each month, we will be joined by a special guest to join me and my colleagues as we deep dive into what's new, what's interesting, and what admissible innovations have hit the market recently, we cover everything on the podcast, from sustainability to start ups and the latest research and development, plus we quiz the experts in the field about their products and ideas across the huge spectrum that is the textile industry. So no matter what your interest is, WiTN, have you covered, and we can connect you to everything you need to know right here from our central hub in the UK. Welcome back to WTiN's textile innovation podcast. I am joined by clothing 2.0 CEO, JordanSchindler. In today's episode, clothing 2.0 is a US based company that infuses doses of proven medicine, vitamins and supplements into yarn to produce laundry, soap and usable healthy garden textiles. In this episode, Jordan walks us through the company's evolution and delves into how it addresses a whole host of medications for varying conditions. We further speak about the company's recent collaboration with Marina group, a provider of medical grade post-surgical compression garments. The partnership creates what it says is the world's first line of post surgical garments infused with consistent over the counter pain relieving active ingredients. Furthermore, we even touch upon the future of metal garments crossing paths with smart wearable textiles.

Hi, Jordan, thank you for joining me today on the WTiN textile innovation podcast, please. Could you tell me a bit about clothing 2.0 about the company and its milestones?

Schindler: Yeah, thanks, Abigail. Excited to be here. So our company was founded really as a way to solve patient compliance. So my my grandpa, fortunately suffered from from Alzheimer's for a number of years, and could never remember to take some medications, but interestingly, still put on a sock every single morning. And so that that really got us thinking right about how clothing is the perfect delivery vehicle of medications, right? We all get dressed every morning. It contacts our skin all day, every day. So that's sort of the foundation for our company and technology. And we really developed this platform category called Health wear, where we're able to deliver controlled doses of medicine through your clothing, and that's affected through numerous wash cycles. So we believe that we're the only ones in the world that can deliver doses of medicine through clothing, and ultimately we focus on areas where patient compliance is super low. So think about things like pain relief, acne, eczema, psoriasis, athletes, dry skin, stretch marks, right? All these things where we have to reapply creams multiple times a day. It's sticky, it's messy, it's gooey, right? Versus, if you can just have this very constant rate of delivery via garments, we believe that it's actually a much more effective delivery vehicle. So all of our products are made today, here in the US, in a FDA registered clean room. Then you can buy our partner products today in retail and stores like Walmart and CVS, etc.

WTiN: That's really interesting. And not actually heard of this before. So how does your technology work to deliver those vitamins and medications effectively into the body through the clothing?

Schindler: Yeah, so think about a transdermal patch as a really good analogous technology, right? If you've seen like a NicoDerm or smoking cessation path, right? If it works via direct skin contact. So we're measuring milligram dose per square inch of a garment. So ultimately, what we do, right? Imagine the yarn is like a sponge where it's actually absorbing these active ingredients. In some cases, you're actually doubling the weight or the den of the yarn based on how much active ingredient is being delivered, and then upon skin contact, that moisture and sweat actually triggers release of that ingredient into the body and ultimately into the bloodstream in certain cases. And we've actually done our own transdermal studies where we've compared using a topical cream versus using a garment. And what we found that over 24 hours, the garment, because of that compression and constant skin contact, actually caused that ingredient to penetrate further into the dermis, epidermis, then this kind of roller coaster of dose you get applying the cream every three to four hours.

WTiN: And what are the benefits of receiving medication in this way?

Schindler: Yeah, there's so many, I think, focusing on consistency of dose, right? So most, most medicines are more effective, delivered consistently over time. And so when you apply a topical cream, it sits on the top of your skin, it sweats off, right? It gets in your clothing, versus, if you have this constant rate of. Delivery, which is our technology design, you're getting this very consistent rate of delivery over a 10 hour wear period. And oftentimes, right when we're applying topical creams or taking oral supplements, we don't necessarily do it every three to four hours or every day as directed, right? But we all get dressed in the morning. We're all putting on clothing anyway. And so you're actually getting a much more effective therapeutic dose over a specific time period. I mean, I'm as guilty of it as anyone, right? Like, I get sick, I get prescribed antibiotics, and then after three days of my two week course, I stopped taking them because I feel better, right? And then people have to go back and take them again. It's actually the number one cost of insurance industries. It's patient compliance, right? Because then they have to re prescribe the medication. And so clothing, we believe in this category we find here we believe is a more effective way of actually delivering medications to consumers for a lot of different applications.

WTiN: And looking a bit more like at the technical composition of the clothing. Can the medications be applied to any kind of material like or do you use, you know, synthetics like polyester or natural cotton cellulosic. What kind of textiles and fabrics can you be using in your technology?

Schindler: Yeah, good question. So our base material, which we call active yarn, is typically a nylon, in some cases, polyester. And our yarn is typically only 10% of a given garment placed where you need it. So like, like pixels on a screen, right? With that precision, you can pinpoint where each yarn goes in the garment. So like, in the case of a T shirt, you might only want pain relief in the shoulders or the lower back. And so we can combine that with 90% other base materials, right? Cotton wool, etc. So we provide the active yarn, but then that finished white label garment can be whatever composition the brand wants. And so our active yarn is always plated or positioned to the inside of the garment where it contacts the skin, but the rest of the garment can ultimately be constructed out of any material you'd like.

WTiN: Cool. And how does the active yarn you provide, how does it perform, in terms of, like, durability, washability, and can it be used multiple times? Say, if there is a problem at one point, can they then, say, psoriasis or eczema, like you mentioned, could you then, if it came back, use the same garment again, if that makes sense?

Schindler: Yeah, absolutely. So the garment is delivering when it contacts the skin. If it's in a packaging or sitting on a shelf, it's not going to be releasing that that medication. So ultimately, what we're measuring is wear hours. So each garment will withstand, let's say, 1525, wash cycles, or up to 250 wear hours. So depending on how the garments being used right, that'll determine the life and the longevity of the product itself. But it's designed to perform and be used through for normal use in consumer home laundering cycles to treat that product or that condition over time.

WTiN: And Jordan, please, could you tell me what demand have you seen for clothing, 2.0 textiles from, say, potentially consumers, brands and even the medical industry?

Schindler: Yeah. I mean, it's a blessing and a curse, right? There are so many different potential use cases and partnership opportunities we focused first, initially with one of our partners called new fabrics in the pain relief space, and, for example, sat down and talked to the buyer at Walmart, and in two minutes he goes, I get it right. There's a huge correlation between people buying braces and pain creams. Why not just put the two things together? And so that product that's been around in retail for five plus years here in the US, you can buy that at big retail stores like like Walmart and CVS, and we've sold millions of units of that product, right? And consumers are benefiting from this simplified behaviour where they're not having to go buy two products, right? A topical cream and a brace, two supply chains, right? So there's a positive environmental story there, and they can just simply put it on right, like they would put on a normal garment and you're getting that positive benefit. And we've also explored a wide variety of different other use cases, right? So we have different partners across a wide variety of different platforms and sort of various stages of development. But we're looking at other ingredients, like salicylic acid for acne. We're looking at Shea butter for stretch marks and dry skin. We're looking at eczema and psoriasis. I think there's also a big opportunity for anti-fungal for ringworm and for athletes, but where clothing just really is simply a better delivery vehicle. We also just recently launched a partnership with Marena in the post-surgical space, where typically patients are after, let's say they get lymphedema surgery or breast augmentation or liposuction, etc, they're required to wear these tight fitting compression garments and apply topical creams, right? And so whether it's a pain reliever or an active ingredient for cruising and info. Nation, there's an inherent advantage of combining these things together when their party requires a pair of these tight fitting compression garments over very prolonged periods of time. So we think there's a really big opportunity in that area to help patients recover faster.

WTiN: That's super exciting, and I'm going to delve further into the Marena collaboration with. But in terms of going back to just starting, like, you know, just developing your technology in general, what have been the biggest challenges that you faced, while, you say, while you move from different applications, different application.

Schindler: Yeah, I think there is a lot of challenges and complexities with what we're doing. I mean, it took us five plus years to actually develop the technology before we launched anything, and then we actually had to build out the entire manufacturing process ourselves, because no one was actually applying ingredients in this way to yarn. There's a lot of technologies, right? That would be like a dye bath application or something where you can't actually get a consistent dose of medicine over time, and so, but we didn't set out to create our own technology. Ultimately, we realised that's what we had to do in order to deliver consistent dose over time to consumers. And so, long process of setting up manufacturing supply chain, and then also going to the whole regulatory side, right? So we spend a lot of time engaging with the FDA, understanding dosing profiles. And I use the example of a bottle of Tylenol, right, or aspirin, where that bottle is supposed to have 100 pills and shows up at 97 right? You got a big problem. But if my garment has a little too much white or black yarn or thread, right? Like not the end of the world. And so we really had to rethink that entire supply chain to ensure right, that yarn actually equals milligram dose of medicine, and set up processes to ensure compliance all the way through. And so all of our garments actually have a lot number right? A bathroom, you can actually track it back to which knitting machine it came from to ensure compliance all the way through the process. So this integration of medicine and textiles and the complexity of these two things together, it's taken us a long time to figure out, but now that, now that we have we can really rinse and repeat and develop new active ingredient solutions, right? So we did capsaicin and pain relief. Can do a menthol, and then we can do an antifungal through the same GNP good manufacturing process that we've established.

WTiN: I must say, I've not actually heard any other company doing the same thing as you. But are there others in the area, in the same sector, and if so, how do you stand out in comparison?

Schindler: Yeah, I don't know that. I've seen anyone else, either. So we own a lot of IP in the space of control, delivery of medication through apparel, through garments, and that's really what sets us apart. I would say the closest competitor, right? Might be a Tommy copper Right? Or a copper additive that's really extruded into the yarn, or a dip solution, right? A micron cap solution. And I think about all those things primarily as like an outward facing right, like you don't want a dose of copper delivered sort of to the body, right? The use case is very different. And so think about us as really inward facing, right, where we're delivering a milligram dose every hour is over into garment, and that's really what sets us apart, right? So we have the ability to be a replacement and deliver the same therapeutic dose as the topical cream you'd buy in a pharmacy where no one else in the world truly has that capability that I've seen today.

WTiN: Amazing. And then just going back to looking at the Marena collaboration specifically, thank you for touching upon that. Could you tell me a bit more about how the partnership was was formed, and how you worked together to create the garments?

Schindler: Yeah, we've known them for quite a while. I think we actually met at a trade show a number of years ago, and and for us, really just looking at right, where can we help patients the most right? And where is point of care important? And their research so very quickly realized that post-surgical garments is an area where patients are wearing these uncomfortable garments oftentimes, and they're wearing them for more than 24 hours at a time. And so combining that with these medications that they're oftentimes having to apply, right? They have to take this bulky garment off, apply cream, and then re attach the garment, especially after you've just had surgery where you're worried about scarring or tearing stitches, right? Trying to minimize movement, incorporating the same medication directly into the garment has so many inherent benefits, right, for helping patients recover faster and making their recovery journey easier. It just felt like such a natural collaboration to go to the industry leader in Marina that makes post-surgical garments that really understands this patient journey and understands what their needs are. And so it was really a natural collaboration when we spoke to. And excited to have our first product on the market, and we're working on a number of other ones, really, to address patient needs. And that's that's number one for us and for Marena.

WTiN: Also, you said you had your first product on the market. Please. Could you tell me what the consumer feedback has been like?

Schindler: Yeah, so they and we did a lot of initial focus group testing with physicians and with patients, and it's all been very positive in the marketplace, even before we launched with any product like that. I think you have to be especially careful on consumer feedback and testing. So we do a lot of where testing product testing ahead of launch. So yeah, the feedback was was very positive from the marketplace in terms of understanding the value proposition that proposition that we're offering, solving for pain relief. But also, right now, you start to get advocates that are have their mind expanded, and they really think about what other applications can we launch? And so the next one we're working on right is in the bruising and inflammation space, and there's all these other interesting applications right now that you the world has seen this potential in incorporating medicine into post-surgical garments, right? What other post-surgical treatments can exist? Right? What other garments can we incorporate this into? What other active ingredients can we use? So I really think it's sky's the limit, but it's really driven by patient outcomes and testing. And I mean, physicians are leading the way in terms of what they see as the greatest need. They're the experts truly not not us.

WTiN: Wonderful, and you just touched there about what you're working on next. But do you have any other products or collaborations in the pipeline that you'd be able to tell us about today?

Schindler: Yeah, we've got a bunch, some we can talk about, some we can't. But I would say we're working on applications in hojuri and sock, I think is a really interesting application where a lot of consumers, I mean, most consumers, put on sock right, where it's just part of their their daily routine. And so think about all these ailments that happen to the foot right, diabetic ulcers, or athletes foot right or ankle pain. And so we're working on a suite of product offerings in the compression sock and diabetic sock space with active ingredients to really help people's healing process with their feet, which they were on our feet all day, right? It's the perfect place to start, and it's it takes away from so many different activities, right? When you can't when you can't walk, when you're in pain, incorporating solutions into the into the sock, just makes so much sense. So look for some of those products from us coming soon.

WTiN: And where would you like to see medication textile? Sorry, how would you like to see medication textiles develop in terms of innovation and accessibility?

Schindler: Oh, man, there. It's such a opportunity, right, even way outside of what we're doing where, I mean, it truly is this platform for something that contacts your skin all day, every day, that's oftentimes viewed in a negative light, with harsh chemicals, right, and microparticles. And I think you can really turn that negative into a positive in terms of delivery of positive benefits. So we've seen the rise of a lot of these smart materials, right wearables, where measuring heart rate is measuring certain parameters about your body. And you can imagine that's integrated into the release of an active ingredient, right, with heart rates too fast or too slow, or body temperatures too high or too low. And then you can imagine that's actually causing the trigger of release of an active ingredient to the body. So I think there's so many different applications for where the future of medical Textiles is going. I think it's super exciting.

WTiN: And obviously you just touched right then about wearables. Obviously, we are seeing a lot of talk generating, again, in the smart textile area, especially in wearable electronics. Yeah. Do you think there is a future where medical textiles and a wearable electronics could collaborate or come together?

Schindler: Yeah, 100% we've actually already filed IP in that, in that space right, where the trigger is something about your body, right? It's my smartwatch telling me something, right? It's telling me my body temperature is a certain way, and then that could trigger release of an active ingredient based on occurrence, right? So I think there's a really interesting future there. We're not quite there yet technologically speaking, but that's ultimately where the future of the industry is headed. In my opinion.

WTiN: that's super exciting. Are you or do you plan if you're allowed to tell me to venture into that space yourself? So you just said that you filed the IP actually? Yeah.

Schindler: So we definitely are looking at it from an IP perspective, and for us, it's finding the right collaborative, collaborative partners that I think can add value to what we're doing, and we can add value to what they're doing. I think that's that's definitely a category that's of interest to us in the future.

WTiN: Thank you, John. And my final question is, and I feel like we've got a really good vision of this at the moment, but what is the plan for the company moving forward? What is, yeah, anything that you're particularly aiming towards? Yeah.

Schindler: Yeah, absolutely. Our plan is to continue to find and work with leading innovators in apparel and pharmaceutical sectors and really operate as this gore tex Intel Inside ingredient model. And so we're always looking at who are the right collaborative partners for us that are looking for adding health and wellness benefits, looking to help their their consumers or their patients in the marketplace, and so we're excited about partnerships in the pipeline, but also adding sort of new, innovative partnership opportunities in the space and growing Healthware. And we truly see the day where every person on the planet is wearing a garment that has some health and wellness benefit. And that's this sort of holistic category. And why we call the company clothing 2.0.

WTIN: Amazing. Thank you so much. That was really insightful.

Schindler: My pleasure. Abigail, thanks for having us on. We've enjoyed it.

WTiN: Thank you so much for listening. If you have any questions, you can reach out over x formally, Twitter, at WTiN, comment or contact me directly at Abi underscore WTiN, if you are interested in sponsoring an episode of the podcast, please email sales at WTiN.com thank you for listening, and we'll see you next month.