Nano-Nano
There’s tiny, there’s microscopic and then there’s nanoscale.

By Sherri Collins

Editor, Pet Product News International

Nanotechnology. You may have heard or read about it in the news, perhaps in the last year in regards to virus-powered batteries. If you’re a sci-fi fan, you may remember it from an episode or two of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Or, if you’re like me (a bit of a science geek); you follow its progress via scientific-themed magazines and websites. However much or little one knows about nanotechnology, it would seem safe to assume that it has little to do with the pet-product industry, belonging instead to the more “serious” realms of medicine, microchips and physics. That might have been true five years ago, but not today.

Nanotechnology is generally any technology done at a nanometer scale (1 to 100nm), such as using single atoms and molecules to build devices. How small is a nanometer? Very. It’s one-billionth of a meter. (For comparison, a human hair is 100,000 times thicker than a 1 nanometer carbon nanotube.)

At this point, you’re probably asking, “This has what to do with my selling pet products?” The answer is you may be soon selling—if you’re not already—items that incorporate nanotechnology, in particular pet beds and clothing.

Using nanotechnology, researchers were able to create a textile surface that not only repels liquid and dirt, but also acts as a bacteria barrier—and it’s resistant to abrasion. The proprietary process was developed by Schoeller Technologies AG in Switzerland, and the result was the NanoSphere fabric finish. Nano Pet Products then exclusively licensed the finish for use in pet products, in particular, the Dog Gone Smart dog bed line and its Dog Gone Smart Wear.

What brought all this to my mind and subsequently to you? A newswire release on Nano Pet Products.(I take blog ideas from wherever I can.). Pennsylvania-based natural pet-products retailer Cutter’s Mill, The Natural Pet Place, has partnered with Dog Gone Smart to carry its dog bed line. After reading the release, I wondered, “Who else is taking advantage of nanotechnology’s benefits?” The answer is not many—yet. The NanoTechProject.org website lists a few pet products out of the 806 consumer products currently available, including food bowls, a water purifier, an algae inhibitor and pet shampoo; the first three of which incorporate silver nanotechnology (as used in the newest anti-odor socks, usually marketed with silver in the name).

While there is ongoing (and legitimate) concern regarding the unknown long-term effects of certain nanotechnology uses, food and medicine in particular, the overall result should be for the better—better for the environment, for people and for their pets. The technology’s potential is as limitless as it is small.

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There’s tiny, there’s microscopic and then there’s nanoscale.

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