LifeSavers Wipes, a locally conceptualised product, has been nominated among the top-three global innovations of 2019-2021.

This follows the product’s nomination for an International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) which sees the locally developed product now joining the company of past winners including Huggies pull ups, Purex three-in-one laundry sheets, Lysol disinfectant wipes and Procter & Gamble’s Swiffers in an exclusive group of innovative products set to become game changers in the engineered fabrics industry.

The other two innovations nominated alongside LifeSavers wipes are Organic 2.0 — a biodegradable wipe which uses the Nobel Prize winning organocatalysed technology and MDP, a bladder leakage product for men.

The line of Lifesavers product, which includes personal hygiene wipes/toilet paper, was designed to indicate to users if they are unwell as it changes in colour in cases where health abnormalities are detected in the urine.

University lecturer and radio presenter Georgia Crawford Williams, who acted as team lead of the product along with other local scientists said that she along with her team members were all very proud of the nominations, especially because the product for which she holds the patent was researched and developed right here on the island in labs at The University of the West Indies.

“My team members Dr Peter Nelson and Shannon Dacosta are brilliant chemists and our launch product is only the beginning of what we can do together,” an ecstatic Crawford Williams stated.

“The beauty of the product is its simplicity. The user’s regular routine of wiping after urinating is all that is required and the wipes will change colour if abnormal levels or the mere presence of certain chemicals are detected,” the product developers highlighted.

While its launch product was more of a diabetic wipe, LifeSavers, in seeking to further expand its offering, said it would in short order roll out other wipes which could detect pregnancy and urinary tract infection (UTI). The company over the longer term has it eyes set on having all toilet papers being able to indicate to users the presence of other abnormalities.

The locally crafted product is said to represent the “best of the best in innovations” as the award recognises leading introductions in the industry.

The IDEA, which this year marks its 42nd anniversary, is said to be one of the longest running and most prestigious design awards programmes founded to recognise exceptional achievement in industrial designs, branding, digital interaction among other things. Each year, thousands of entries are submitted by design teams across the globe, making IDEA one of the largest and most widely anticipated annual awards programmes in the world. The top innovation award is to be presented to the winner at this year’s staging of the IDEA conference to be held at the Miami Beach Convention Centre in the US on March 31.

The public is being urged to vote for Lifesavers wipes at:

www.nonwovens-industry.com/idea-reg-achievement-awards