Luxury fashion companies are stepping up by making generous donations to hospitals and charities, and lending manufacturing capabilities for PPE needs and hand sanitizer. Charitable Efforts Despite the Backdrop of Hard Hits to Revenue The global economic shutdown implemented to fight the spread of COVID-19 has been crippling—if not devastating in certain communities—to the business of fashion. Brick-and-Mortar Retail is closed as a result of shelter-in-place restrictions, and many factories across the globe are out of work. Some smaller companies have cut their employees’ salaries in half while they work from home, while others, including large chains, have been required to make sweeping layoffs with no promise of rehiring until the economic climate revives. The investment research consultancy Bernstein is predicting that the first half of 2020 is “likely going to be the worst in the history of the modern luxury goods industry.” Despite this, the larger luxury fashion companies losing profit and productivity are doing their best to make positive use of their prolific success and resulting financial reserves, responding to needs ranging from funding to production, offering all possible resources. From Manufacturing Clothes and Perfume to Manufacturing Personal Protective Equipment
As the number of infections rises, PPE shortages in health facilities are a pressing issue—governments are calling on factories that are able to help tackle the shortage, so many fashion companies are using their manufacturing capabilities to help produce what’s needed. The Ralph Lauren Corporation is currently working with its US manufacturing partners to produce 250,000 face masks and 25,000 isolation gowns to combat the current shortage. In England, Burberry has repurposed its domestic trench coat factory to make non-surgical gowns and masks. It has also facilitated its global supply chain network to create and deliver 100,000 surgical masks to the UK National Health Service. In France, Kering has provided the French health service with 3 million surgical masks from their suppliers in China and is utilizing its French workshops for Balenciaga and Yves Saint Laurent to manufacture additional masks. Finally, LVMH is using its perfume & cosmetics production sites to manufacture hydroalcoholic gel to address the shortage of hand sanitizer. This may be only the beginning of the contributions that the fashion industry will make during this pandemic. Donations to Hospitals and Treatment Research In Italy, where the death count and devastation have been the highest of the European countries, the parent company of Valentino & Balmain is donating 2 million euros towards Protezione Civile Italiana and Intensive Care Treatment at the Sacco Hospital. The aim is to entirely cover all expenses related to one of the many urgencies that the Lombardy Health Care System is facing. Additionally, Prada has donated two full intensive care and resuscitation units to three Milanese hospitals. And back North in England, Burberry is furthering its impact by helping fund research into a single-dose vaccine developed by the University of Oxford, whose COVID-19 vaccine may begin human trials next month.
Working from Home but Contributing to Charities Also in London, the e-commerce giant Yoox Net-a-Porter Group has donated its Delivery Service Fleet to charities supporting vulnerable and socially isolated communities. Its vans will serve as volunteer vehicles for a number of local Age UK charities in London which work to ensure that the elderly has access to care packages, food, and medical supplies. And Burberry is donating to charities that are dedicated to tackling food poverty across the UK. In the US, the Rihanna Foundation has donated $5 million and PPE to a number of charities. The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation is donating $10 million to assist the company’s employees, partners and global communities impacted by COVID-19. The company is also continuing to pay its employees through the shutdown.
The RL corporation will also donate a portion of the $10 million toward the recently launched initiative “A Common Thread,” which in partnership Tom Ford and Anna Wintour, will aim to aid the fashion businesses most impacted by the deadly virus. It’s fantastic and uplifting to see these huge, multinational companies with large revenues putting the proceeds of customer shopping to good use to help us in times of grave need. The hope is that they are also able to care for as many of their employees and international partners as possible through this slowdown—as this economic downturn is likely to have continued, ripping effects. We are so grateful for their contribution and their example.
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