Fashion giant H&M says it will ask its supply chain to produce personal protective equipment (PPE) to help medical staff tackle the COVID-19 outbreak and use its global networks to deliver them to hospitals as soon as possible..

“The Coronavirus is dramatically affecting each and every one of us and we’re, like many other organisations, trying our best to help in this extraordinary situation,” said Anna Gedda, Head of Sustainability, H&M Group. “We see this as a first step in our efforts to support in any way we can. We’re all in this together and have to approach this as collectively as possible.”

H&M does business directly with 750 independent suppliers which manufacture textiles and fashion items for its brands in around 1,400 factories in Europe, Asia and Africa.

The company said that earlier, after new CEO Helena Helmersson contacted the European Union to offer the company’s help in the fight against COVID-19, the fashion giant immediately started to prepare for the production of personal protective equipment for healthcare providers.

H&M will also use its huge purchasing and logistics operations to start delivery of the newly manufactured medical textiles as soon as possible.

“The company’s supply chain teams around the world are now collectively supporting in these initial efforts to support countries and communities worldwide,” it said in a statement today.

Source: EcoTextile News