Mar 3 2010
According to the report "Key Products and Players, Global Markets and Applications for Nanotechnology" the global market for nanotechnology in the combined personal care, cosmetics, household care, packaging and leisure wear markets was worth approximately UK£1435 million in 2009, and is expected to rise to UK£2740 million by 2015.
Nanotechnology is attractive to consumer goods companies because of the potential it offers to add a novel design or function to a brand. There are numerous products on the consumer goods market already incorporating nanomaterials. In sporting goods, nanomaterials are a component of tennis balls, tennis rackets, golf balls and ski wax. Nanocoatings have been applied to eyewear for increased comfort and durability and to clothing and footwear to repel stains and kill bacteria.
Counterfeiting of branded products is estimated to cost companies $600 billion worldwide, and affects a whole plethora of industries. The latest developments in brand security and packaging are designed to provide "smart protection", by which new applications for in-print or coating taggants (covert chemical markers) provide not only yes/no authentication of valid products, but also tools to assist companies and organisations in effectively managing product or item integrity in a complex environment.
The 111 page report says, nanoscale taggants containing unique magnetic "fingerprints" can be used in a wide range of articles, from pharmaceutical packaging and luxury goods (such as watches and handbags) to automotive and aviation spare parts. It is hoped that such "fingerprints" will stem the tide of counterfeit goods by enabling genuine merchandise to be uniquely identified. A number of nano-based products offering product security have already been introduced into the sector, including intelligent inks and nanoparticle coatings.
There is a wide variety of personal care products on the market at present claiming to contain nanomaterials. The European Commission estimates that nanomaterials are now used in around 5% of the cosmetic products - including sunscreen, lipsticks and anti-ageing creams - that are already on the market. There are more than 2500 personal care products that contain either nano-titanium dioxide or nano zinc oxide including moisturisers, eye liners, lip sticks, make-up foundations, soaps, sunscreens, mascara and nail polish.
Source: http://www.reportbuyer.com/index.html