Kiwi Company Combines With Swiss Textile Technology Experts To Create Antiviral Lifestyle Clothing.

Kiwi brand AVIRO has combined forces with Swiss textiles technology company HeiQ to launch the first lifestyle clothing range designed to minimise the transmission of pathogens on fabric, including coronavirus and influenza. The range includes t-shirts, polo shirts, and reusable face masks all treated with HeiQ’s new technology HeiQ Viroblock NPJ03.

HeiQ Viroblock, is among the first textile technologies in the world to be proven effective against SARS-CoV-2 in the laboratory[1]. The results indicated a 99.9% reduction of the COVID-19 causing virus. HeiQ Viroblock has been tested against a broad set of bacteria and enveloped viruses and uses a unique combination of silver and vesicle technologies to destroy the membrane of viruses that it comes into contact with.

AVIRO founder Jamie Hunt, has over 20 years’ experience in the clothing industry and is the co-founder of global sports brand 2XU. Jamie worked closely with the HeiQ team to develop a fabric that HeiQ’s Viroblock would effectively adhere to. With years of experience developing fabrics with heating and cooling yarns to antibacterial applications, it was a natural progression for Jamie to start looking at antiviral clothing.

Jamie, said, “When COVID-19 hit I had plenty of time to think about how I could use my experience to help. At the same time my daughter, who is in her last year of nursing school, went to work as a healthcare assistant during lockdown. She was working in a rest home where there had been a confirmed case of COVID-19. At the end of a long day she would come home through the back door of the house, put her clothes straight into the wash and then get in the shower, before anything else. It made me think about how bacteria and viruses can travel on clothing and I realised as part of the ‘new normal’ there was also a need for everyday garments that could help reduce this risk. ”

Jamie had an existing relationship with HeiQ and reached out to them about their new HeiQ Viroblock. From there Jaime used his experience and a network of technical partners to research which fibres and weaves would work most effectively for the technology to adhere to. AVIRO has passed HeiQ’s rigorous testing with Swiss lab Microbe Investigations AG (mis), and are in the process of undergoing more testing to further validate themselves as leaders in destroying pathogens on clothing.

The clothing ranges in price from $60 NZD (for two reusable masks) to $85 NZD for the short sleeve polo – providing an affordable option for people and that additional peace of mind.

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