How Fashion Brands Across The Globe Are Helping Communities To Fight COVID?

How fashion brands across the globe are helping communities to fight COVID?

From manufacturing masks and hand sanitiser to making multi-million dollar donations, fashion designers and brands across the world are stepping up to contribute to the fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic. The fashion industry has come together to do its bit to aid global relief efforts.

Here are some incredible stories of fashion brands helping communities and health care facilities to fight the virus :

• Ralph Lauren– The American luxury brand has pledged a donation of $10 million to WHO’s Solidarity Response Fund and the company’s Emergency Assistance Fund which supports its own employees and partners. Also, the Ralph Lauren Corporation has recalibrated its manufacturing hubs to produce 250,000 masks and 25,000 isolation gowns for frontline health care workers. In the UK, the company has set up fundraising and donation initiatives to raise money for The Royal Marsden and NHS. 
• Hugo Boss– The German suit maker is using its Metzingen production site to manufacture 180,000 face masks, which will be donated to public facilities. Hugo Boss has also made donations to the National Emergencies Trust, a fundraising initiative set up by the British Red Cross. Beyond producing face masks, it is also working on manufacturing PPEs for health care workers who are at the frontline of the global fight.
• LVMH– The fashion conglomerate, which is the parent company of brands like Dior, Givenchy & Louis Vuitton, has suspended production of its beauty and fragrance products and converted its facilities to produce hand sanitisers to donate to French public hospitals. It has also hired 300 additional employees to produce face masks which will be donated to the public. LVMH has pledged to donate 40 million face masks to prevent the spread of the virus.
• Burberry– Burberry has pledged to deliver 100,000 surgical masks to the NHS. The British brand is using its Yorkshire trench coat factory to produce hospital gowns and masks for patients. It is also funding research for single-dose vaccine development at the University of Oxford as well as supporting charities fighting food poverty in the UK.
• Gucci– Gucci has promised to provide 1,100,000 masks and 55,000 medical overalls for health care workers. It has made donations of €1 million each to crowdfunding campaigns such as WHO’s Solidarity Response Fund and the Italian Civil Protection Department. The Italian label has also started #GucciCommunity, asking its followers to donate to WHO’s COVID 19 fund as well as giving the organisation full access to its social media platforms to spread useful information about the spread and prevention of the virus.
• Chanel– Chanel has donated $1.2 million to French emergency services and public healthcare systems. The French label is using its production facilities to manufacture 50,000 face masks for medical workers, firefighters and police officers.
• Prada– The Italian giant has helped to build two entire intensive care and resuscitation units each for Milan’s three largest hospitals. Also, Prada is also ramping up the production of 80,000 medical overalls and 110,000 masks to be distributed among health care professionals.
• Bottega Veneta– Bottega Veneta has extended support to scientific research in Italy. It is funding two years scholarships across Veneto, Lazio and Campania which will contribute to the research and support of Italian medical workers. 
• Bulgari– Bulgari is donating 160,000 units of hand sanitisers to medical staff and hospitals in the UK. It has made donations to the research department at Lazzaro Spallanzani Hospital in Rome and Italy’s Centre of Excellence in Research and Medicine who are working to find a cure for COVID-19.
• Salvatore Ferragamo- To battle the pandemic, Salvatore Ferragamo is manufacturing and donating 100,000 antibacterial masks, 50,000 units of hand sanitisers and 3000 FPP1 masks for hospitals and health care professionals in Tuscany. 
• Moncler– The luxury ski brand announced that it will donate €10 million to build a new hospital with 400 intensive care units in Milan which will treat patients suffering from coronavirus.
• Kering– The luxury conglomerate that owns Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga and Yves Saint Laurent has donated $1 million to the CDC Foundation as well as pledged to provide 3,000,000 surgical masks for French health care professionals.

It’s not just corporations, individuals like Giorgio Armani have pledged to help out hospitals in his native country with a personal donation of 2 million AUD. Donatella Versace and her daughter Allegra have donated €200,000 to the ICU of San Raffaele Hospital in Milan. Gucci CEO, Marco Bizzari made a personal donation of $100,000 to hospitals in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.

The way the fashion world has responded to this unprecedented crisis has been heartwarming and inspiring, to say the least. Every contribution, whether that be from an individual or an organisation, is important and makes a huge difference in our collective effort to overcome this pandemic.