Halden Works Norway: Odor-Free Compression Base Layers Built on Coffee Ground Polyester Yarn
Halden Works is a Norway-based activewear label whose base layers programme sells directly to consumers and through selected retail partners. The team asked us to rebuild the fabric from scratch because a scented finish masked the smell for two washes and then stopped working. The target was a permanent mechanism rather than a fragrance.
Halden Works: odour-control swatch set for the base layers programme
The challenge
The smell built up at the back and the underarm, where sweat sits longest during a session. The previous fabric was a standard synthetic knit with no odour strategy, so bacteria broke the sweat down on the fabric and the smell became permanent after a few weeks. A retailer review that questioned the wording of the claim made the problem urgent: the brand needed a fix before the next bulk booking, not a new supplier search.
The fabric solution
We built the programme around Coffee Ground Polyester Yarn on a polyester filament knit base. The mechanism matters: micronised spent coffee grounds trap odour molecules and add recycled content. Keeping the base at plated knit with 12% elastane and 190 GSM meant the hand, the stretch and the cover stayed exactly where the design team wanted them, because odour control changed the chemistry and the construction rather than the silhouette.
Wear trial and fit approval of the polyester filament knit fabric
Development and implementation
- Week 1: brief agreed, sweat zone mapped, target set as odour reduction above 75% with recycled content above 3% by ISO 17299-2.
- Week 2–3: laboratory knits produced and tested; add-on level adjusted until the target was met with margin.
- Week 4–5: wear trial on finished base layers, assessed after eight hours of wear.
- Pre-production: wash durability confirmed at permanent inside the fibre, care wording written as standard laundering with mild detergent.
- Bulk: fixed recipe, consolidated dye lots, ISO 17299-2 repeated on every lot.
Specification delivered
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Product | Compression Base Layers |
| Base construction | plated knit with 12% elastane, 190 GSM |
| Odour-control system | Coffee Ground Polyester Yarn |
| Performance target | odour reduction above 75% with recycled content above 3% |
| Test method | ISO 17299-2 |
| Service life | permanent inside the fibre |
| Added cost | a 9% yarn premium |
| Certification | OEKO-TEX Standard 100, REACH compliant inputs |
Results
The freshness claim passed the retailer's technical review first time, and no claim wording had to be softened before launch. The odour value was re-measured on bulk fabric rather than on the approval sample, so the result reflects what customers actually received. The programme is now on its third repeat with the same recipe.
“The fabric still smells clean at the end of a double training day. That is the comment we get most often now.” — Halden Works Product Team
Inline inspection and packing before the base layers shipment
Key takeaway
Odour control has to be engineered into the fabric, not sprayed onto it at the end. Defining the mechanism first and the test method second removed most of the risk in this programme. For Halden Works, that turned a recurring complaint into a feature the brand could sell.
