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A local fabric company claims for the first time in the world to have produced special type of clothes which are anti-coronavirus.
Zaber and Zubair Fabrics Ltd of Noman Group, in collaboration with two Swiss research firms, has worked rigorously for over two months to create the fabric using antibacterial and antivirus chemicals which will kill 99.9 percent bacteria and virus within two minutes.
After the news of genome sequencing of coronavirus by two Bangladeshi scientists a local company has created a raft of products which can keep coronavirus at bay. This new type of fabrics was opened at a press conference in the office of Zaber and Zubair Fabrics in the capital’s Gulshan area Thursday. Chief Business Development and Marketing Officer of the company Rashid Ashraf Khan said “We are very happy to help people in coronavirus situation and we are the first fabric manufacturer to produce fabrics which can kill any bacteria and virus will kill 99.9 percent bacteria and virus within two minutes. We have used special chemicals in the cloths where virus and bacteria can’t sustain.”
Senior Brand and Communications Manager Anal Raihan said, “This anti-coronavirus fabric can be used to make any dress which will be a bit costly as it is produced in a specialized way.” This fabric can be washed 2-30 times in its shelf-life, he further said adding that it has got International Organization for Standardization certification and, in the meantime, it has qualified the standard testing under ISO-18184. The prime ingredients of the anti-coronavirus fabric are registered under Toxic Substances Control Act and environmental protection agency in the USA. This cloth can be used to make mask, Personal Protective Equipment, medical gown, bedspread etc.
Apart from this, we have used the chemical in jeans and woven cloths which are smooth, soft, washable and air can pass through it, he again said adding that it is made up of 100 percent cotton.
The producer informed that European and American firms are communicating with them to import the virus-proof fabric and export to some European countries have been started already.
"An effort with wholehearted intention to serve people"
Meanwhile in an interview with The Business Post, the managing director of Zaber and Zubair Fabrics Ltd Mohammad Abdullah Zaber said, making a profit was not the purpose behind the invention of special fabric that kills coronavirus – it was an effort with wholehearted intention to serve people. There is no clear sign when the coronavirus will go away and everything will return to normalcy. At the same time, it’s also not possible to remain stuck at home for long. Therefore, people have to survive fighting against the virus and wear such clothes that can give them maximum protection. These are the thoughts that motivated Zaber and Zubair Fabrics Limited, the largest textile manufacturer in the country, to invent this coronavirus killing fabric named ‘Corona Block Fabric’, as said by its Managing Director Mohammad Abdullah Zaber.
Abdullah Zaber said different countries and people around the globe are relentlessly trying to find a way to prevent Covid-19 as everybody wants to survive. But the world is yet to come up with any vaccine that treats coronavirus. So everybody is working from their own positions. People have the mindset that they have to survive fighting against the virus -- wearing proper clothing can be a weapon in this fight, he said. “Since we make cloths, we have thought about inventing a special fabric that can give protection to people against the virus,” he said, adding that they had made the product using Swiss technology. The fabric can kill coronavirus within 120 seconds with the precision of 99.9 per cent, he said.
Regarding the price of the fabric, Abdullah Zaber said a yard of fabric costs Tk 70-120 depending on qualities since lab test and the use of chemicals add up to the total price.
In the meantime, they have been receiving huge response from buyers based in Europe and the US, he said, adding that they had already expedited the process to export the product.
Alongside export, Zaber said the Z&Z, a concern of garment exporter Noman Group, is also trying to meet the local demands and that the fabric would be available in the local market by the next month with the brand name ‘Blue Jeans’, he said, adding that the fabric could be used for making trousers, shirts, jeans, masks and PPE.
Clothes made of this fabric can be washed 20-30 times, he said, adding that the fabric had achieved certification from the International Organization for Standardization.
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