Merino Healing and Environment
Encircle is the first compression therapy system to utilise the medicinal properties of merino, a natural protein fibre comprised of keratin a fibrous protein also found in the outer layer of human skin, hair and nails.
Encircle has harnessed these naturally occurring properties of merino to create a bi-component textile that actively forms a micro-environment for skin development and healing when encircled around the body. This merino-micro-environment is advantageous in the advancement of patient care by leading clinicians because the most important goal for any compression system is to reduce the chances of ulceration being caused through infection of the skin and tissue.
In our compression garments, Merino is weft-knitted into a new fabric structure whereby it is placed on the inside for next-to-skin comfort, with a flat channelled fibre (with a hydrophilic surface which can transport liquid moisture by capillary action) placed on the outside, and an elastomeric fibre inserted to lie inside the plane of the fabric where it is concealed. The differing moisture absorbency and wicking behaviours of these fibres creates a textile with a moisture gradient that actively absorbs moisture vapour and liquid moisture in a wearers skin environment, and transports it by capillary action towards the exterior of the garment where it is released.
The knit structure of Encircles bicomponent textile naturally absorbs and traps odours, providing an inhospitable environment for microbial growth (this is unique because other textiles need to be modified with antimicrobial chemical agents). The other novel attribute of this textile is that it actively resets itself dimensionally during laundering due to the natural shrinking behaviour of merino. This technology has resulted in a product that maintains the prescribed size and therapy for longer with little residual extension, unlike products made of 100% polyamide which creep over time leading to non-compliant care).
