KHUJAD, September 24, 2010, Asia-Plus -- The Khujand-based joint venture Javoni (clothing factory) has manufactured a test consignment of stretch pants, the Javoni director general Ibrohim Ghafourov told Asia-Plus Friday afternoon.

“The consignment has been sent to customer in Europe,” Ghafourov said, “Imported rubber thread and our cotton will be used for manufacturing stretch fabric.”

Stretch fabric is a term that refers to synthetic fabrics which stretch in all four directions. This is in contrast to normal fabrics that will often stretch to a small extent, although only in two directions.  Stretch fabrics evolved from the scientific effort to make fibers using neoprene. From this research, in 1958 commercial stretch fabrics (''elastomerics'') such as spandex or elastane (widely branded as ‘Lycra’) were brought to the market.

Stretch fabrics simplify the construction of clothing.  Fashion designers began using them as early as the mid-1980s. They entered the mainstream market in the early 1990s, and are widely used in sportswear.

“The enterprise now produces up to 130,000 men’s and children’s pants, shorts and jackets from cotton per month and 95 percent of the output is exported to Europe under the brand of Italian company Carrera,” the deputy director said.

“Despite difficulties and hard competition, production has risen 8 percent compared to 2009 (January-September),” Ghafourov noted, adding that more than 1,200 people work for Javoni at an average monthly wage of 718 somoni.

The garment company Javoni is a joint venture in Sughd province.  This is the largest foreign-local textile joint venture in the country.  Javoni is majority owned by Carrera Group, a global leader in the manufacturing and sales of casual garments.  Javoni produces casual garments sold through Carrera into Europe.