Antimicrobial agents, products and compositions incorporating the agents, and methods of using the compositions and products are provided. The antimicrobial agents comprise 1,2-cyclohexanedimethanol, 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol, 2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-1,3-cyclobutanediol, or mixtures thereof. These agents have surprisingly been found to inhibit microbial growth at a much lower concentration than other glycols with known antimicrobial activity.