Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

You have questions about our ElephantSkin gloves? Here is a collection of the most frequently asked questions.

ElephantSkin brand gloves are produced in Italy, Portugal, Turkey and China.

The organic cotton comes from India and is certified. It is brought to Portugal as raw material, where the yarn is spun and subsequently produced from the fabric for our ElephantSkin gloves.

The organic cotton fabric is washed with the antimicrobial technology. This process can be compared with impregnation of jackets or shoes. In order to guarantee the correct concentration and function of the washed-in active ingredient, we send samples of each fabric production to independent testing laboratories.

The active substance is silver chloride and is registered as a biocide.

After being washed in, the active substance sits well anchored in the fabric of the ElephantSkin gloves. Upon contact with an enveloped virus on the surface of the glove, the vesicle of the active ingredient first cleaves the cell membrane of the virus to expose the cell nucleus. Then the silver ion can attack and kill the nucleus of the virus.

The treatment used in our ElephantSkin gloves has been certified as safe and sustainable, as all ingredients are cosmetic grade, safe and sustainable, and made from recycled materials. The active ingredient is REACH (EU) and FIFRA (USA) compliant, OEKOTEX® certified and has the ZDHC and bluesign® seals. The treated textiles are BPR (EU) and EPA (US) compliant.

The antibacterial and antiviral effect of ElephantSkin gloves is tested for each fabric production by the independent and accredited testing companies“Hohenstein Textile Testing Institute” from Germany as well as “Microbe Investigations AG” from Switzerland. 

The testing of the antibacterial and antiviral properties of textiles are specified in ISO standards 20743 (antibacterial) and 18184 (antiviral). The performing testing companies follow a clearly specified procedure and therefore create reliability and comparability of results.

ElephantSkin gloves have been tested in the laboratory for the Betacoronavirus (exactly: "Betacoronavirus 1 / ATCC VR-1558") and were able to detect a 99.97% degradation of the virus on the surface in the test period of 2 hours.

The treatment degrades enveloped viruses (e.g. beta-coronavirus) and bacteria on the glove over time. After one second, it can be assumed that a large number of pathogens are still on the glove. After a few minutes, most of the pathogens have been degraded.

The gloves retain their properties at least over 30 gentle washes at 40°. If the gloves are washed once a week, for example, the treatment thus remains effective for more than half a year (30 weeks).

The treatment of the glove lasts longer the less the glove is washed. However, the efficiency of the treatment is very high even after 30 washes: 99.77% reduction of enveloped viruses and bacteria in the test period of 2 hours.

ElephantSkin gloves do not need to be washed after each use. They should be washed when they are obviously dirty and therefore no longer comfortable to wear.

All general purpose & heavy duty detergents are suitable for washing the treated ElephantSkin gloves. Included bleaching agents have an effect on the color of the gloves, not on the treatment.

S: 7

M: 8

L: 9

XL: 10

We are already working on gloves for children and in larger sizes.

The efficiency of the treatment is extremely high even after 30 washes. We are talking about an efficiency of 99.97%. Reduktion vor der ersten Wäsche und einem Wirkungsgrad von 99,77% Reduktion nach der 30. Wäsche. So it is safe to assume that the glove will maintain its high efficiency even (far) beyond 30 washes. (First tests we receive from the laboratory after 50 washes also show results of a reduction of over 99%).

We recommend 40 ° gentle wash. (To preserve the cotton. The treatment remains effective even with washes of 60 ° C).

In principle, yes. However, in terms of our gloves and treatment, this is not. The ElephantSkin glove was developed so that you do not have to sterilize gloves further.

Yes, the treatment used has been certified as hypoallergenic.