The FVC Media Team recently spoke with Ms. Rohini Swamy of Livinguard Technologies for an exclusive interaction on the evolving landscape of functional and sustainable textile innovations. In this interview, she discusses how Livinguard’s Swiss-engineered material science solutions are addressing key industry challenges, the growing demand for biocide-free performance technologies, India’s export readiness amid evolving global regulations, and the future of sustainable textile manufacturing.
Q. Could you tell us what Livinguard Technologies does and the problem it set out to solve in the textile space?
Livinguard Technologies is a Swiss-Indian material science company, and our mission, at its core, is to safeguard the wellbeing of people and the environment. We do that by pioneering technologies built on a platform that modifies surfaces through a permanent positive chemical charge. The goal is always twofold — leading functional performance and tangible sustainability impact, together, not as a trade-off.
We deploy this platform across a range of industries. In textiles specifically, that translates into applications like durable, biocide-free odour control, reduced microfiber shedding, and more resource-efficient dyeing.
The foundational problem we set out to solve is simple to state – but harder to execute against: performance and sustainability shouldn’t come at each other’s expense. A textile technology should deliver a real functional benefit — but it also needs to reduce impact across manufacturing, use, and end of life. And we’re not stopping at textiles. In the coming months, we’re expanding this same platform into other substrates too — plastics, pigments, air filters, and more.
Q. As the company scales in India, which segments: apparel, PPE, home textiles, or technical exports are you prioritizing, and why?
Our main focus right now is apparel – activewear, performance clothing, workwear, and other categories, where freshness, durability, and resource efficiency genuinely matter to the end-user. But I’d frame our prioritization a bit differently: it is driven by the value we add, not by chasing a particular industry segment.
India is already a major textile manufacturing hub, and we see a real opportunity for Indian producers who serve European and other international markets. There’s also potential in home textiles and select technical applications. But ultimately, our approach comes down to one question: does this technology solve a real problem for the manufacturer, the brand, or the end user? That’s what determines where we go next, more than the category itself.
Q. Antimicrobial and hygiene-tech textiles have moved from pandemic-driven demand to evolve mainstream expectations for biocide-free, safer, and environmentally friendly technologies. Companies like yours have been central to that shift. What’s driving this demand in India today?
The pandemic undeniably raised awareness for hygiene technologies. Post pandemic the market has however further evolved and moved well beyond simply wanting products that “kill germs.” Today, demand is much more focused on freshness, comfort, and performance that actually lasts wash after wash.
What has changed even more is the sophistication of the questions being asked. Brands and consumers alike are digging into the chemistry behind the claims: Does this contain biocides or metals? Does anything leach out of the textile? How safe is the technology for the environment and the consumer? How durable is the effect, really? And is any of this backed by actual testing, or just marketing?
That shift in awareness is exactly what is driving interest in biocide-free technologies like our Livinguard Better Fresh which manages odour without relying on a conventional antimicrobial approach. Honestly, for everyday apparel, that conventional approach was always an overkill. You don’t need to be fighting bacteria at that level just to keep a t-shirt smelling fresh. Increasingly, also brands and consumers recognize this.
Q. With the EU’s Digital Product Passport and tighter REACH-aligned compliance ahead, how are Indian technical textile manufacturers adapting to stay export-ready?
The strongest manufacturers are already moving beyond reactive compliance – the approach where you scramble to pull documents together only when a customer asks for them. What we are seeing now is companies proactively building better systems: for chemical management, supplier documentation, traceability, product data, essentially looking at the whole picture.
And that matters because, at its core, the Digital Product Passport is really a data challenge. Manufacturers are going to need reliable, accessible information on materials, chemicals, production processes, and product performance. You can’t retrofit that overnight.
European textile regulations are currently evolving at a rapid pace. Besides increased transparency for consumers, there are various other regulatory frameworks under implementation that aim to decrease the lifetime impact of textiles. This is where our portfolio of solutions for the textile industry, from odor control to sustainable dyeing, becomes an important enabler for manufacturers to stay export-ready.
The call to action for the industry is thus quite straightforward: the time to prepare is now, not when the regulation lands. Companies that strengthen these systems and the technologies that they use early won’t just be ready for the compliance deadline. They will be seen as lower-risk, more transparent, more attractive partners for international brands. This future-proofing approach is a competitive advantage that outlasts any single regulation.
Q. Performance finishes are often at odds with biodegradability and recyclability goals. How is the Indian industry balancing function with circularity?
I think the industry is starting to move past a narrow view of circularity, one where a finish is judged simply as “biodegradable” or “not biodegradable.” The reality is more nuanced. You have to ask: how much chemistry is actually being used? Does it leach out over time? How long does the performance actually last? Does the finish help extend the life of the garment itself? And critically, does it interfere with recycling at the end of that garment’s life?
At Livinguard Technologies, we hold our own solutions to that higher standard. Take Livinguard Better Fresh, for example, delivers long-lasting odour control and cuts down microfiber shedding, but it does this without compromising the recyclability of the treated textile.
Our belief is simple: value-added performance and circularity aren’t inherently at odds. The conflict only arises when a technology is designed for one and not the other. If you build and test for both from day one, you can have durability and sustainability in the same product.
There is also a practical business dimension to this. Using solutions like ours doesn’t just help our customers meet their sustainability targets today, but it puts them ahead of the curve for when these requirements become mandatory, which we believe is a matter of when, not if.
Q. With the India-EU FTA reshaping tariffs and compliance norms, what should Indian textile exporters be doing now to prepare?
The India–EU FTA could open significant opportunities for Indian textile exporters, but lower tariffs alone won’t be enough for Indian exporters to capture this market. European customers expect strong compliance, traceability, and credible sustainability claims.
Exporters should use this window to understand which products stand to benefit, review rules-of-origin requirements, and ensure documentation is in order. Strengthening supplier data, testing, and internal compliance systems matters just as much. Furthermore, we encourage Indian manufacturers to review their chemical portfolios to ensure they live up to this higher standard and optimize their manufacturing processes for lower resource consumption and emissions today.
Companies that prepare early will be best positioned to capture this opportunity and will be able to serve this market as European requirements continue to evolve.
