18
COPPER’S
PROPERTIES
MAKE IT PERFECT
FOR KILLING
BACTERIA AND
VIRUSES
£895 / 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.Metal doesn’t sound very warm.
Have you been outside?
Chill yer boots – the jacket is
soft, malleable, highly waterproofand windproof, and comes with a
fleece-lined neck and pockets to
keep your hands warm and safe.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 forastronauts, thanks to a partnership
with a US/Chilean company called
Copper 3D.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.VOLLEBAK FULL METAL JACKET
I C O N