Today, the Inditex fashion group, owner of the behemoth fast-fashion brand Zara, announced a major push to aid in the fight against the coronavirus. The company, which is based in Galicia, Spain, will make its factories and logistics teams available to the Spanish government to donate much-needed masks for patients and medical workers alike. In a statement from a company representative, Inditex explains that it “will make a delivery at least once a week of materials we purchase directly.”
It goes on to say that Inditex has “already donated 10,000 protective face masks and by the end of this week expects to be in a position to ship another 300,000 surgical masks.” Inditex also notes that masks are among the most urgently needed supplies, as indicated by the Spanish health authorities, along with gloves, protective glasses, caps, shoe covers, and face shields.
While the distribution of the masks is well underway, the statement reads that the company is still in the process of sourcing medical grade fabric for hospital gowns, and “investigating the possibility of switching some of our textile-manufacturing capacity over to the production of health materials, involving Inditex’s manufacturing experts to that end.”
Whether or not Inditex will be able to supply additional countries with these materials outside of Spain remains to be seen. But the company should be applauded for its efforts. As the virus continues to spread, it will become more and more important for brands and conglomerates to step up in any way that they can.
Originally published on Vogue.com
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