FEATURES
Understand why
the design is famous - and you will know why charities across the world are screaming for our acclaimed Australian design.
Charities agree
- it is the ultimate interim emergency relief measure for street sleeping homeless.
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Donate Safely On-line
$68 (AUS) tax deduction helps a homeless person.
How many can you buy?
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| UltTrex Lite™ High tech specially designed function fabric. |
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To understand why we had to invent UltTrex Lite™ function fabric - you need to understand swags and materials used to make them. Please read below.
What is a Swag?
An Australian term for an outdoor portable sleeping unit. Made famous by songs such as Once a Jolly Swagman (old time person) camped by a Billabong (waterhole). The sad irony is that that Jolly Swagman was being chased by Police. Homeless are often chased away as well.
Traditional Australian swag
Sadly, the traditional Australian swag is made of heavy canvas (sometimes up to half a kilo per square meter). But tradition - does not mean canvas is the best fabric to use. You live in the 21st century. Not in the era of tall ships and pirates.
Think about it. If canvas was so amazing - why is it not being worn by skiers around the world? How many athletes in extreme conditions walk around in heavy canvas outfits? None. Instead they wear Gore-tex™, Thinsulate™ and soon will be sleeping in UltTrex Lite™ products. Technology is how we landed on the moon - not by tradition.
Canvas Fact. Canvas is very heavy, rigid, not comfortable, typically contains dangerous chemical treatments eg. copper - that if set alight will give off highly toxic chemical smoke and generally keep on burning (especially if made in China or India). Canvas is typically used to make products because it's cheap. At Swags for Homeless it is not about making money - it is about giving dignity to homeless. Homeless get the benefit of a group of people who care more about homeless than profit.
Myth. If canvas is heavy it must be strong. Canvas swags are heavy, mostly weighing in at 7-10kg each. Why? It's made of canvas. The Swags for Homeless Backpack bed is around 4kg (imagine carrying 3-6kg of unnecessary weight).
Myth busted. Heavy fabric like canvas does not mean strength. e.g. Kevlar (10 times stronger than steel) but is lighter than canvas. So too is our UltTrex Lite™ fabric - super strength ... but super light. Fact - most fabrics are lighter than canvas.
PVC Facts. Swags for Homeless DOES NOT USE PVC for its base.
DANGER - PVC - Consumer ALERT.
PVC is used as a base material by almost ALL swag manufacturers in Australia.
Be thankful - Swags for Homeless does not use PVC for its base.
PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) facts you need to know.
- Greenpeace is advocating for the global phase out of PVC due to dangerous dioxins released when combusted.
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- PVC can leach DEHP (diethylhexyl phthalate) which is so toxic that from 2007 car companies such as Toyota, Nissan, Honda eliminated all use of PVC in their car interiors.
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- On combustion PVC produces HCI - quantitatively related to chlorine. Yes. Chlorine gas can kill you and was used for this purpose in World War II.
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- The State of California is proposing a Bill to ban the use of PVC in consumer packaging due to the threats posed to human and environmental health. Click for source.
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- With long exposure to Vinyl Chloride the International Agency for Research on Cancer linked it to angiosarcoma of the liver.
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- Vinyl chloride is a known human carcinogen that causes a rare cancer of the liver. Click for source.
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- DHCP metabolites measured from the blood of pregnant women have been significantly associated with the decreased penis width, shorter anogenital distance and the incomplete descent of testes of their newborn sons, replicating effects identified in animals. Click for source.
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- PVC is cheap and dangerous.
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- Still need help understanding the danger of PVC:
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Do you understand why Swags for Homeless is concerned about humans sleeping on PVC? Again, no PVC is used in the base of our famous Backpack Bed™ - instead we use an ultra strength man made treated fabric with environmentally friendly chemicals.
Did you know you have to prepare canvas swags before use - crazy?
People that buy canvas swags hope that it is waterproof. Surprise. When you first open it you have to read the instructions. If you want it reasonably waterproof before first use - you need to wet it down. Yes. You have to wet the canvas and then dry it, test it and maybe do the whole process all over again and again - until you are satisfied - not confident is it?
Why you have to waste time preparing canvas before first use?
The 'hope' and 'theory' is that you have to wait until the cotton fibres shrink tight. Then maybe it's waterproof to a certain level. So let's say you have shrunk the fabric enough to make it reasonably waterproof. Remember this. Canvas is typically made of cotton. How many cotton clothes do you have that are waterproof? Now you understand why it's so thick and heavy - you have to shrink a lot of fibres - hence unnecessary weight.
What happens to thick heavy canvas when it gets wet?
It gets heavy. It also takes a long time to dry. Fabric that takes a long time to dry typically then rots. We read on one expensive swag that you should not store your canvas swag on concrete.
Why is concrete the enemy of canvas swags?
Concrete drys the canvas out and makes it brittle. Do homeless sleep on concrete - many do. Sadly, many homeless use cardboard boxes to lay on for insulation. So why give a homeless person a product made of canvas that will dry out and become brittle?
At Swags for Homeless we think it is cruel to have homeless people prepare canvas before first use ... and then force them to walk around with a bed that is heavy ... and when wet ... takes a long time to dry ... and then deal with the added dangers of rot and mildew ... and dangerous chemicals if burnt? These canvas problems are solved with our Backpack Beds using UltTrex Lite™ fabric.
So unless you like lifting heavy items and have time to pre-prepare / dry your swag thoroughly after each use - we hope you now understand why canvas is the most ridiculous idea for use in a swag?
Again, just because canvas is cheap and traditionally used on tall ships in the era of pirates. Does not mean we should be using it to sleep in or use in extreme conditions.
Homeless are people too. Why can't homeless people have something incredible? Treat people they way you want to be treated. When turned away from shelters, a Backpack Bed™ is better than nothing. This is a superior crisis bedding solution. Do you understand why charities across the world use our famous Backpack Bed™ to help homeless in crisis.
A $68 (AUS) tax deductible donation will buy a homeless person a Backpack Bed.
So how many Backpack Beds for Homeless can you buy?
Donate to Australia's most needy of needy.
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Donate Safely On-line
$68 (AUS) tax deduction helps a homeless person.
How many can you buy?
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