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In the Face of a Global Crisis, What Is the Fashion Industry Doing?

From large hospital donations to manufacturing hand sanitiser, fashion’s biggest names are mobilising to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Source: Shutterstock
By
  • BoF Team

LONDON, United Kingdom — From the catastrophic Australian wildfires to the fire that destroyed Notre Dame, the fashion industry is no stranger to rallying around a cause. As the outbreak of Covid-19 continues to spread across the West, governments are scrambling to contain it by implementing draconian lockdown measures and organising stimulus packages to salvage businesses from financial ruin. Many of fashion's biggest names are now joining in on the fight against the pandemic, with some industry giants donating large sums while others pivot their manufacturing to supply much-needed essentials like surgical masks and hand sanitiser.

BoF tracks who has donated what so far.

Estée Lauder: donated $2 million to Doctors Without Borders and has reopened manufacturing facilities to produce hand sanitiser for medical officials.
Marco Bizzarri: donated €100,000 to eight hospitals in Italy's hard-hit Emilia Romagna region.
Bulgari: donated an unspecified amount to Istituto Lazzaro Spallanzani in Rome, which is researching ways to fight and prevent the disease. The donation covered the costs of necessary equipment worth over €100,000.
Burberry: will provide 100,000 surgical masks to the UK National Health Service, as well as non-surgical masks and gowns for patients, subject to regulatory approval. The company is also funding vaccine research at the University of Oxford and donating to several charities that tackle food poverty in the UK.
Canada Goose: will manufacture surgical overalls for medical workers as well as patient gowns. The brand has also donated one million yuan ($140,582) to the Wuhan Charity Federation.
Capri Holdings: the group's brands are donating more than $3 million in support of Covid-19 relief efforts. Michael Kors is providing $1 million to local relief efforts in New York, with an additional $1 million in personal contributions from group chairman John Idol and brand founder Michael Kors. Versace will donate $500,000 in Milan, on top of a 1 million yuan donation made in February to the Chinese Red Cross Foundation. Jimmy Choo is providing $500,000 to British and global initiatives.
Chanelproducing masks and other protective equipment for the French healthcare system.
Chiara Ferragni: raised over $4 million for the San Raffaele hospital in Milan through an online fundraising campaign.
Dolce & Gabbana: donated to the Humanitas University, which is undergoing a research project to fight the virus.
Fast Retailing: the Uniqlo owner is using its manufacturing partners in China to donate 10 million masks to Japan and other countries that urgently need protective equipment.
Levi's: commits $3 million to Covid-19 relief efforts
Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti: donated €1 million ($1.1 million) to a new dedicated Covid-19 hospital at the Agostino Gemelli University Policlinic in Rome.
Giorgio Armani: donated €2 million ($2.2 million) to a number of institutions, including three hospitals in Milan, the Istituto Lazzaro Spallanzani in Rome, and the nation's civil defence. All of the Armani Group's Italian production plants have converted to manufacturing medical overalls.
Gucci: donated €2 million ($2.2 million) to start two public fundraising campaigns to benefit the National Civil Protection Department in Italy and the World Health Organization's COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.
H&M: using its supply chain to source medical supplies to be distributed across European hospitals.
Hermès: pledged to donate 5 million yuan to the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation, a public welfare foundation, as well as €20 million to public hospitals in the Paris region and producing over 30 tonnes of hand sanitiser and 31,000 masks.
Inditex: pledged to donate over 300,000 surgical masks to Spanish hospitals running low on stock.
John Elliott: donated $10,000 to the UCLA Health Fund.
Kylie Jenner: donated $1 million to a fundraising campaign organised by a Cedars Sinai Medical Center doctor to purchase N95 masks and face shields.
Kering: donated $1.08 million to the Hubei Red Cross Foundation and has purchased three million surgical masks from China to donate to health officials in France. Kering-owned Gucci is also making one million masks and 55,000 pairs of overalls to be donated to Italian medical workers.
LVMH: donated $2.3 million to the Red Cross in China in February and has since pivoted its perfume manufacturing capabilities to make free sanitising gel for hospitals and local authorities. The luxury conglomerate will also supply 40 million masks to French medical authorities.
Jack Ma: donated 500,000 Covid-19 testing kits and one million surgical masks to America. The Alibaba Group co-founder has also pledged to give two million masks to Europe, and has donated 5.4 million protective masks, 1.08 million testing kits, 40,000 sets of surgical overalls and 60,000 sets of face screens to be distributed across Africa.
Mayhoola: donated €2 million to support the Intensive Care Treatment Unit at Sacco Hospital in Milan as well as the Protezione Civile Italiana and €1 million to La Fondation Hôpitaux de Paris - Hôpitaux de France.
Moncler: donated €10 million toward the construction of a new hospital in Milan.
New Balance: using its US factories to produce masks for medical workers.
Prada: will produce 110,000 masks and 80,000 medical suits to be distributed among healthcare workers in Tuscany, Italy.
Pyer Moss: run by Kerby Jean-Raymond, has set up a $50,000 fund for women-and minority-owned independent businesses struggling to make ends meet.
Ralph Lauren: producing 250,000 surgical masks and 25,000 medical gowns at its US manufacturing facilities.
Revolve: donating 10,000 N95 face masks to two hospitals in Los Angeles.
Richemont: donated $1.4 million to the Red Cross Society of China.
Sandro: making 10,000 cloth masks for non-medical workers and will host breakfasts every Friday at hospital facilities to support local medical workers.
Sergio Rossi: donated €100,000 to the Sacco hospital in Milan.
Three Graces: donating 100 percent of online sales between March 18 and April 1 to Crisis, which is supporting and protecting homeless people amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Tiffany & Co: through The Tiffany & Co. Foundation, the jeweller donated $750,000 to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for the World Health Organization, and $250,000 to The New York Community Trust's COVID-19 Response & Impact Fund.
Tod's: The Della Valle family donated €5 million to the Protezione Civile to support the family members of healthcare workers who lost their lives to Covid-19.
VF Corp: through the company's foundation, it has donated $1.5 million to organisations including: the Colorado COVID-19 Relief Fund; the CDC Foundation Emergency Response Fund; and the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. It has also set aside an additional $500,000 to "match" any donations made by VF Corp employees and brand consumers.
Vogue and Anna Wintour: has with Tom Ford and the CFDA set up A Common Thread, a fund-raising initiative to support struggling designers and manufacturers impacted by the coronavirus.
Donatella Versace: together with her daughter Allegra Versace Beck, gave $200,000 to Milan's San Raffaele hospital.
Levi Strauss & Co: donating $3 million to a variety of causes surrounding the pandemic.

Did we miss anyone? Let us know at daphne.milner@businessoffashion.com.

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