Arvind Ltd, the leading textile-to-retail conglomerate has entered into technical collaboration with Swiss textile innovator HeiQ Materials AG and Taiwanese speciality major Jintex Corporation to introduce Anti-Viral “Virolock” textile technology for the first time in India under its brand “Intellifabrix”.
Using this technology Arvind will offer shirting & suiting fabrics, readymade garments and face masks in India.
Intellifabrix brand is currently clocking a sales revenue of ₹ 1000 crore and the company plans to add ₹ 50 to ₹ 100 crore to this revenue from the sale of anti viral fabrics and garments in a few months, a top executive said.
“Research shows that viruses and bacteria, can remain active on textile surfaces for up to two days. Garments treated with HeiQ Viroblock actively inhibit viruses and kill them upon contact, helping to minimize the potential for re-transmission of pathogens through clothing,” the company said.
Kulin Lalbhai, executive director, Arvind Ltd said told The Hindu, “The world is facing an unprecedented crisis due to COVID-19. In this context, we are committed to keep our customers safe and that is why we have tied up with HeiQ to bring its revolutionary Viroblock technology to India.”
“In a very short period of time we will introduce fabrics that will provide best-in-class viral protection and are fashionable at the same time,” he said.
The products will be available across India from around 1000 outlets.
A shirt made of using this technology would cost about ₹ 2,500 while fabrics will be priced between ₹ 600 to ₹ 1000 per meter, he said.
HeiQ Viroblock is one of the most advanced global antiviral products created by HeiQ, a Swiss textile innovator.
It significantly enhances the antiviral log reduction and reduces viral infectivity by 99.99% and is one of the first textile technologies in the world to claim such efficacy on SARS-CoV-2, Mr. Lalbhai said.
It has been designed to stay active on treated garments for 30 gentle domestic washes, ensuring safety for the consumer that lasts for a good part of the garment’s life.
Carlo Centonze, CEO, HeiQ Group in a statement said, “HeiQ Viroblock is a special combination of our advanced silver and vesicle technology that has been proven effective against the human coronavirus 229E & SARS-CoV-2, causing Covid-19, with 99.99% reduction of virus in 30 minutes.”
“It is a safe, hypoallergenic and patent pending technology,” he added.
Arvind started its anti COVID-19 drive by manufacturing PPE suits and masks using its technical textiles knowledge and now has forayed into fashion garments in this segment.
