About Bed Nets

Studies show that use of long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets can reduce transmission as much as 90 percent in areas with high coverage rates.

Bed nets prevent malaria transmission by creating a protective barrier against mosquitoes at night, when the vast majority of transmissions occur. Malaria-carrying mosquitoes generally bite between 10:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.m. A bed net is typically hung above the center of a bed or sleeping space so that it completely covers the sleeping person. One bed net can safely last a family for about three years, thanks to a long-lasting insecticide woven into the net fabric.  

A net treated with insecticide offers about twice the protection of an untreated bed net and can reduce the number of mosquitoes that enter the house and inhabit the surrounding areas. Currently, bed nets are treated with pyrethroid insecticides. These insecticides have very low levels of toxicity to humans, but are highly toxic to insects.

The nets purchased and distributed by Nothing But Nets™ are long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets. They have been approved by the UN World Health Organization (WHO) for safety, quality, and efficacy. These standards ensure that the children and families sleeping under these bed nets won’t get sick from the insecticide woven into the fabric of the net. There are three companies that are currently producing these WHO-approved nets:

• Vestergaard-Frandsen, a European company, produces a net called “Permanet” 
• Sumitomo Chemical, a Japanese company, produces a net called “Olyset Net”
• BASF, a German company, produces a net called “Interceptor” 

Where Are Bed Nets Produced?

Many long-lasting insecticide-treated net manufacturers produce them outside of Africa. In an effort to stimulate local economies and employment, manufacturers have begun efforts to bring the net business to the areas that need them most. One good example is Sumitomo Chemical Company. In 2003, Sumitomo granted a Tanzanian-based manufacturing company, A to Z Textiles, the right to manufacture the Olyset Net in their country. The 50/50 venture created more than 4,000 jobs and is now producing 20 million Olyset Nets per year – approximately 50 percent of global Olyset Net production. Sumitomo Chemical has also established a net sewing operation in Ethiopia. Operated by the Ethiopian textiles business Woinu Curtain Trade, the facility produces nearly three million nets per year and employs more than 300 people.  Sumitomo Chemical recently committed to establishing a Nigeria-based factory.

To learn how the nets purchased through Nothing But Nets are delivered, click here.