Concerns About Antibacterial Products

Recently, it has been discovered that in certain antibacterial chemicals used in hand sanitizers and other consumer products are increasing the chance for bacterial resistance to antibiotics. This raises a concern one of the most pressing issues nowadays, bacteria that are surviving after being exposed to such substances are more likely to develop antibiotic resistance. Thus, making one of modern medicine’s most powerful weapon worthless by increasing the chance of the development of so called superbugs that are hard to control and treat since antibiotics have no effect on them. 

 

The triclosan is an example of such substance, it is now banned in soaps, however, it can be still used in other consumer products such as makeup. 

The main problem about using triclosan is that, like many other antibacterial treatments, it is not 100% effective. Thus the bacteria surviving after such treatment will pass on its modified genetic material on how to be resistant to triclosan. 

Awareness of such effects of triclosan and other antibacterial agent must be raised. At Sanitær we are considering the well-being of future generations, and we are conscious of the long-term effects of our products. For this reason, we have chosen ethanol, a conventional antibacterial agent as the main component of our hand sanitizer. Ethanol kills bacteria without it developing resistance to it.