Why DRYE exists

Built because nothing else addressed the actual problem.

Hands don't deteriorate in open air. They deteriorate inside sealed gloves — under moisture, heat, pressure, and friction. Every solution we knew of treated the damage after it happened. We built one that changes the environment before it does.

I've lived with atopic eczema most of my life. That's why I built something that changes the environment — not treats the damage.

Wilhelm Bäckström
Wilhelm Bäckström
Founder, DRYE
7 yr
Years of R&D Across 4 external institutions before the first commercial pair shipped
4
Institutions Uppsala University, RISE, Swedish School of Textiles
0 yr
Chemical inputs No DWR coatings. No wicking agents. No membranes. The mechanism is structural.
The structural argument

Every conventional solution absorbs moisture. Absorption has a ceiling. It saturates.

That is not a product flaw. That is a physics constraint. Once a material is saturated, it holds moisture against the skin — permanently, for the rest of the shift. No cotton liner, barrier cream, or DWR coating can change that.

Why absorption fails
Cotton liners Absorb until saturation — then hold a wet layer against the skin for the rest of the shift.
Barrier creams Effective until sweat forms. Inside a sealed glove, that happens within the first hour.
DWR coatings Degrade with washing and treat the symptom — not the environment that causes it.
Steroid creams Treat the damage after it's done. The moisture environment that caused it stays unchanged.
How routing works differently
No absorption ceiling DRYE routes moisture through fibre geometry — capillary action and structural gradient. No saturation point because there is no saturation mechanism.
Continuous transport The mechanism is active for the full duration of wear — and doesn't degrade after washing.
No chemical inputs Entirely structural. No coatings, no treatments, nothing that degrades or transfers to skin.
0.4mm — no dexterity compromise Fits inside any standard glove. Verified across automotive and military field testing.
Wilhelm and Andrew
Not another liner.

A tested system for moving moisture out of closed protective gear.

DRYE started with one problem: the environment inside closed protective gear.

Not the cream. Not the skin treatment. The trapped sweat, heat, and friction that builds up during a shift.

After seven years of R&D with external textile and medical input, we built a textile that moves moisture away from the skin instead of soaking it up and holding it there.

Engineered with one of the world’s leading textile institutions. Validated by pro hockey players, mining workers, and people who wear gloves for real work.

Seven years. Four institutions.

We didn't ship until it was verified externally.

Every milestone in the timeline below required external validation — not internal sign-off. The product was not commercially available until the mechanism had been confirmed independently.

2019–2020
Concept prototyping
Skåne University Hospital — DermatologyInitial material concept validated.

Capillary routing confirmed as structurally viable.

2021
Material selection study
Uppsala University — Material science

Systematic evaluation of fibre candidates for textile architecture. Fibre geometry confirmed as primary transport driver — not chemical treatment.

2022
Textile architecture verified
Swedish School of Textiles, Borås

Three field studies published. Structural design finalised — 0.4mm dual-layer gradient confirmed manufacturable at scale.

2023
Enterprise validation — Swedish industry
Boliden · LKAB · Scania · ISS · Hedin Bil · Tesla · Bilia

Tested across Fortune 500 operations in mining, manufacturing, automotive and facilities management.

2024
Field study — electric vehicle sector
Automotive field study, Borås — October 2023 · Pro user cohort

7/9 reduced sweat retention. 3/3 with pre-existing dermatitis reported measurable skin improvement. First D2C sales.

2025
Military field test & new IP findings
National Guard of Ukraine, 2nd Corps · Swedish School of Textiles, Borås

10/10 would use in combat. 9/10 reported improved weapon precision. Advanced instrumentation confirms previously undocumented properties of the DRYE gradient.

2026
Partners Uppsala University RISE Swedish School of Textiles Skåne University Hospital Vinnova Uppsala Innovation Center
SKAPA Prize — 2020

Sweden's most recognised innovation award. In memory of Alfred Nobel.

DRYE received the SKAPA Prize for its textile technology — developed to prevent moisture damage to the skin in protective equipment. The award is given in memory of Alfred Nobel, for innovations with genuine societal and commercial significance.

See the research

"In a smart and practical way, DRYE has developed a concrete solution to a common everyday problem affecting many individuals. Through the textile's gradient, hands stay clean and dry without risk of drying out or eczema."

SKAPA Foundation — Innovation in Memory of Alfred Nobel
The people behind it

One founder lived with the skin damage. The other spent years causing it.

Wilhelm Bäckström
Wilhelm Bäckström
Founder

Has lived with atopic eczema. The personal frustration with reactive solutions — creams, steroids, short-term relief — became the founding premise: change the environment, not the treatment protocol.

[ ANDREW PHOTO ]
Andrew Brathwaite
Co-Founder — EV Engineer

EV engineer by trade — Tesla, CAKE, Fisker. Spent years working in environments where sealed gloves and sweat are an occupational constant. Understood the problem from a different angle than Wilhelm, and brought the engineering rigour to take the validated mechanism from institution to product.

30 days. Full refund if it doesn't work.