PARIS (dpa-AFX) - Luxury fashion house Ralph Lauren will donate $10 million to help fight the coronavirus pandemic and manufacture face masks as well as medical gowns in the U.S.
The company's charity arm, the Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation, said in a statement that it is committing $10 million towards the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The charity arm was formerly known as the Polo Ralph Lauren Foundation.
Ralph Lauren will start the production of 250,000 masks and 25,000 isolation gowns with its U.S. manufacturing partners.
Ralph Lauren noted that the $10 million commitment will provide financial grants through the Emergency Assistance Foundation for its colleagues facing special circumstances like medical, eldercare or childcare needs.
The company will also contribute to the World Health Organization COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund and also commit an inaugural gift to the Council of Fashion Designers of America or CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund to support the American fashion community impacted by the pandemic.
Other luxury brands too are contributing money or resources to help deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
Luxury apparel maker Canada Goose said on Wednesday that it would leverage its manufacturing facilities to begin production of necessary medical gear for frontline healthcare workers and patients across Canada in the fight against COVID-19.
The Canada-based company will make scrubs for healthcare workers and patient gowns, which are in short supply across the country, and will begin distributing them to hospitals next week.
French luxury products maker LVMH Group said last week that it has retooled its Perfumes & Cosmetics production units to manufacture and distribute large quantities of hydroalcoholic gel to be delivered free of charge to French health authorities.
To help address the surgical mask shortage in France, LVMH said it secured an order with a Chinese industrial supplier for a delivery of seven million surgical masks and three million FFP2 masks in France in the coming days, with repeat orders for at least four weeks.
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