Damage & prevention Moisture damage risk Type of moisture damage Container Rain Moisture damage costs Why calcium chloride Our prevention process Peace of Moisture Mind AbsorTest Industries we protect Sustainability by prevention Products All Products Container desiccants Absorpole Absorbag AbsorGel Hanging AbsorGel Blanket AbsorGel Max & Compact AbsorGel Sheet In-box desiccants AbsorGel Pouches AbsorGel Sheet AbsorTerra Accessories Packaging Talk to an expert Insights Moisture Magazine FAQ Webinars Sustainability Sustainability for Clients Sustainability at Absortech About Our company Our organization R&D Quality and production Our people Find an Absortech contact Transparency & Accountability News Contact Language Garments / Footwear In the apparel and footwear industry, presentation and perception are everything. A faint mould smell, visible mildew, or a stained label is often enough to make an entire shipment unsellable. The product may be untouched inside the polybag, but for most brands, it’s repacked or discarded long before a customer ever sees it. Mould is not a rare exception in global apparel logistics. It is one of the most common forms of moisture damage, and a frequent cause of cargo rejection, rework, and brand damage in garments and footwear shipped by sea. And while biocides are still in use, growing environmental scrutiny and regulation are pushing brands to look for better, more proactive solutions. Absortech’s desiccant solutions actively control humidity throughout the shipping environment — both inside the container and within packaging — eliminating mould growth conditions and protecting garment and footwear shipments from rejection. Common products Textiles, fashion apparel, leather goods, sportswear, accessories, dress shoes, casual footwear, sneakers, handbags Common damages and problems Mould and mildew Off-smell or damp odor Peeling or stained labels Bugs and contamination Collapsed or damp packaging Damaged product presentation Our solutions Mould in garments and footwear typically develops inside the container and often inside the polybag. Spores are always present, and when temperatures are typically between 5–40°C, with 20-35°C being the ideal range for mould growth, and relative humidity rises above critical thresholds, the risk increases sharply. For garments, that threshold is around 65-75% RH depending on the fabric, while for paper and wood-based packaging it is around 70-75% RH. When moisture becomes trapped and RH remains too high, the result is mould growth, discoloration, packaging damage, and ultimately product rejection. By keeping RH below 65%, mould cannot start to grow. Today, many manufacturers still rely on biocides to combat mould once it appears. However, this approach is increasingly viewed as reactive rather than preventive and raises growing environmental and regulatory concerns. AbsorGel® desiccants from Absortech take a prevention-first approach. Using high-absorption CaCl₂-based technology, they actively stabilize humidity throughout the shipment, preventing mould growth conditions before mould can form. Best practice today is a two-layer protection strategy: container-level humidity control with solutions such as AbsorGel Hanging for garments on hangers or AbsorGel Blanket for boxed garments, combined with in-box desiccants such as AbsorGel Pouch inside polybags. We recommend combine desiccants with POMM™ (Peace of Moisture Mind®) to tailor mould protection to your cargo, packaging, and transport route. Get the full whitepaper Want a deeper dive into how to prevent mould in garments and footwear during overseas container shipping while reducing returns, complaints, brand damage, and packaging waste in line with PPWR goals? Sign up to receive our Garments & Footwear Whitepaper straight to your inbox:
