The clothing is treated with permethrin (see below for more detail). The fabric is treated before the clothing is manufactured, as opposed to simply coating finished garments.

Permethrin creates a "hot feet effect", which ensures that when a tick comes into contact with our clothing, it becomes paralyzed almost immediately and falls off the clothing.

The cut-off value for the effectiveness of permethrin (200mg) is achieved after 50 to 100 washes (according to lab tests).

However, Rovince in its pure form (not combined with water repellency or other supplements) holds 75-100 washes. In practice, this usually means that the finish will last as long as the garment. Once the garment is this worn, the finish is no longer sufficiently efficient.

One may wash Rovince clothes with other clothes in a colours wash program up to 60 degrees celcius. Softeners and chlorine bleaches are strongly discouraged. Chemical cleaning is not allowed, as the solvents contained will attack the copolymer. Do not tumble dry.

Because we don't simply coat pre-made garments, our clothing remains effective up to at least 80 washes. With socks, this is slightly less due to the fabric and use, up to 60 washes.

Of course, the more worn or damaged the clothing is, the less we can guarantee its effectiveness.

A synthetic pyrethroid, based on the naturally occuring pyrethrum insecticide compounds that are found in chrysanthemum flowers.

Permethrin has been used since the 1960s as crop protection in the cultivation of cotton, among other things. Such variants are more agressive but short-lived.

The variant used in Rovince clothing is much less aggresive but longer lasting.

Permethrin is also frequently used in veterinary medicine to protect dogs against ticks and fleas, among other things. Cats are very sensitive to permethrin.

Permethrin can certainly be harmful to humans, but not in the amounts that are used in our clothing. Of course, our quantity meets the guidelines of the WHO.

For perspective, for our clothing to become harmful to the wearing they would have to be dressed in a complete Rovince outfit (socks, trousers, shirt) for 60 hours a day.

Compare it to alcohol. If you drink a glass of wine every day, it won't hurt, but if you empty one or two bottles every day, there is a long-term health risk.

The WHO has imposed values ​​that must not be exceeded (Allowed Daily Intake). The standard is 25 micrograms/kg body weight per day.

The dosage Rovince uses gives a minimal effect on the human body. A complete uniform (socks, trousers and shirt) will release a 5 microgram/kg body weight permethrin per day. This is a factor of 5 below the ADI (Allowed daily intake) of the WHO standard. In short: one must wear a complete Rovince uniform 60 hours a day to reach the WHO standard (ADI).

Rovince clothing has been tested by the German army across two climatic zones (Afghanistan and Europe) and hundreds of test persons of different skin tones and genders. Any negative consequences of wearing the fabric were very minimal and not of such a serious nature (slight itching and irritation) that would outweigh the protective benefits.

The scientific articles are available for inspection at Rovince BV (Contact: Rovince BV Communications Department).

Wearing permethrin-treated clothing by pregnant women is not recommended. While there is no scientific basis for drawing concrete conclusions, we are erring on the side of caution by recommending that pregnant women do not wear permethrin-treated clothing.

Since it is a contact insecticide, permethrin will only work if there is effective direct contact between the insect and permethrin for a certain period of time. The smaller the insect, and the larger (relative) the contact surface between the insect and the active substance permethrin, the greater the effect of the clothing.

Permethrin is therefore excellent against ants, ticks, fleas, lice, mosquitoes, sand flies, in short small insects. Pewrmethrin is insufficiently present in Rovince clothing and is anchored so deeply in the fibres that it has no negative consequences for larger insects such as bees and horseflies. A bee is too big and heavy, and has too few contact points (legs) to be fatally hit. A tick, on the other hand, has a large contact surface, so that the effect is almost immediate/quasi instant.

There is no direct danger to the aquatic environment and Rovince clothing can be safely washed at home. The minimal level of permethrin which is rinsed away to the sewers is very rapidly and extremely diluted.

From extensive studies it has been concluded that permethrin in the levels present on Rovince clothing has no adverse impact on marine organisms. It is therefore possible to wade through rivers and streams wearing treated Rovince clothing without negatively influencing the surrounding environment.

The pure product permethrin, on the other hand, should of course not end up in nature. That is why the industrial treatment at Utexbel (where Rovince's textiles are produced) is done in a completely closed circuit.

No negative influences of UV irradiation have been measured and/or determined which would reduce the efficiency of the Rovince clothing.

In recent decades, few products have been scientifically tested and studied as frequently as permethrin-impregnated clothing.

Especially from Germany, several scientific studies have been published that relate to both the effectiveness of permethrin and any health risks. The most recent publication is from 2017, in which the German “Bundesinstitut fur Riskbewertung” considers permethrin (if applied correctly) as not “sensitive”.

This is a national Dutch standard that sets requirements for factory-treated permethrin-treated body coverings that help protect against tick bites.

The company Dermatest GmbH is a research institute in the dermatological field. They work closely with scientists from the universities in Paris and Bilbao, who specialize in skin care. Once every two years we have our permethrin finish dermatologically tested and assessed by Dermatest GmbH.