Race to Remobilize: COVID-19 and the Fight to Produce Protective Equipment

With the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus and the disease COVID-19 around the United States and the world, a race is on to remobilize the textile industry to help fight the pandemic by producing personal protective equipment (PPE).  Healthcare workers have long relied on a few key items of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to help keep themselves safe from infection and to prevent the spread of infection among patients and the general population. The key PPE items include gloves, face masks, air-purifying respirators, goggles, face shields, respirators, and gowns.  Until recently, every single one of these items was ubiquitous enough to be considered more or less disposable in hospitals across the United States. Now, however, in the time of COVID-19, every single one of these items is a scarce, precious commodity in many locations. Increasing supply to meet demand will require a massive surge in manufacturing, no light or easy task. After all, there are highly specific manufacturing processes associated with these items, not to mention the materials involved and the expertise to produce them correctly.  To help mitigate the effects of shortages, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have identified 3 levels of operational status: conventional, contingency, and crisis.  During normal times, face masks are used in conventional ways to protect healthcare workers from splashes and sprays. However, when conditions become sufficiently severe and healthcare systems are stressed, the contingency mode applies. CDC recommendations for contingency mode call for conserving resources in some important ways, notably canceling nonemergency procedures, deferring nonurgent outpatient encounters if they might require face masks, not using face masks in public areas, and using face masks for protracted periods of time if at all possible.  When things become still worse and the conditions for crisis mode are met, CDC recommendations call for further belt-tightening. All elective and nonurgent procedures and outpatient appointments that would typically require face masks are to be canceled.  Additionally, face masks should be used beyond the manufacturer-designated shelf life even during patient care activities. Limited reuse becomes permissible, and the use of face masks is prioritized for situations in which splashes, sprays, or aerosolization are likely. In those situations in which face masks are not available at all, the CDC recommends using face shields without masks. In this crisis, CDC is recommending that clinicians at high risk for COVID-19 complications, are to be taken out of clinical service. Priority in staffing is to be given to convalescent health care workers who are presumably immune from the novel coronavirus. Also, homemade masks are permitted, and in extremis, even masks made from bandanas or scarves may be used. Already, there are growing numbers of news reports of local hospitals using plastic garbage bags for gowns and plastic water bottle cutouts for eye protection.  Given the dire nature of this situation, the efforts of textile companies to repurpose their production to make personal protective equipment are nothing short of lifesaving.  Some of these companies already have tremendous expertise in manufacturing advanced medical fabrics and barriers. A case in point is Milliken & Company, a company that is already known for its own breakthrough BioSmart™ antimicrobial technology, used in the production of medical scrubs, lab coats, and hospital privacy curtains. This technology uses bleach in the textiles themselves, killing up to 99.9% of all common bacteria on contact.  Milliken has currently turned its manufacturing capabilities toward the production of crucial barrier fabrics. These textiles will be used in gowns and headcovers to be worn by healthcare professionals. At the same time, the company is researching and developing materials that will be incorporated into N95-grade masks.  “We have focused our development and manufacturing processes to help fight the battle against COVID-19,” says Halsey M. Cook, President & CEO of Milliken & Company. Cook explained that not only is the company engineering existing textiles into medical-grade fabrics, but it will also continue to seek new critical solutions to help address this situation. However, many other companies are attempting to remobilize the existing production of decidedly non-medical textiles to help meet the demand. Their efforts are heroic, but they have quickly learned that the regulatory environment in which they are operating is characterized by a shocking lack of guidance or direction. One of these plucky, brave firms is American Roots, a Maine-based manufacturer of U.S.-made fleece apparel, such as hoodies and vests. Co-owner Ben Waxman took a look at the economic crisis and realized his company would lose 60% of its revenue. He decided to set the company on a new course: manufacturing protective gear. Partnering with another Maine-based company, Flowfold, Waxman and American Roots began production on an order of 10,000 face shields. Waxman’s design team is also working on face masks and surgical gowns. American Roots has made a bold stand, one Waxman has undertaken with great care. Many other large and small U.S. companies are stepping up to the challenge of manufacturing PPE, but they are finding obstacles, red tape, and confusion in their way.  While manufacturing the items poses challenges aplenty, the situation has been made worse by the chaotic, frenzied marketplace for the PPE. Governors of several states have already reported online auction-style bidding wars as the healthcare systems of different states race to order necessary personal protective equipment to keep hospitals stocked.  For his part, Waxman has described the situation as challenging, anything but smooth. In his words: “This is like having an air traffic control tower with nobody in it.” So far, what the U.S. lacks is a strategy for managing the supply chain and ensuring that the many U.S. companies stepping up to the plate are able to swiftly manufacture and sell the badly-needed products. “Why wasn’t there a plan if we were cut off from China?” Waxman says. As American companies race to remobilize their productive capacity to meet surging demand, their efforts are all the more heroic for the confused and tangled landscape in which they operate. This notwithstanding, they are achieving great things, greatly increasing the country’s supply of vitally-needed medical equipment.   More articles on CommonShare How Coronavirus Is Affecting The Fashion and Textile Industry Habits and the Ecosystem: 5 Ways to Consume Harmlessly From Food to Fashion: Applying Sustainability Lessons Across Industries