From wax jackets to medical gowns: Barbour joins
coronavirus battle
By Reuters
Staff
https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-barbour-idUKKCN21X1PS
LONDON
(Reuters) - British fashion brand Barbour has turned over its production line
to making protective gowns for frontline healthcare workers battling the
coronavirus outbreak, reviving memories of its patriotic efforts in both world
wars.
Many of
Britain’s healthcare workers have complained there is not enough protective
equipment, including gowns, masks and hoods.
The
126-year old Barbour, famous for its wax jackets and country fashion, is
targeting the manufacture of 23,000 gowns over three weeks, chairman Margaret
Barbour told BBC radio on Wednesday. It hopes to have made at least 7,000 by
the end of the week.
“It’s
extremely worthwhile to know that we’re playing our part,” she said.
Barbour,
80, said the project stemmed from her close relationship with the Royal
Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, northeast England, which was the first
hospital in Britain to treat novel coronavirus patients in January.
She offered
to help by recalling machinists at Barbour’s South Shields factory who in line
with the national lockdown were not working, reorganising the plant’s layout to
comply with the government’s social distancing regulations.
“They are
so enthusiastic to help, I think we all are in this desperate time,” she said,
noting that Barbour is no stranger to adaptation.
During both
world wars the factory was turned over to make military garments to assist the
war effort.
“We even
made trench sleeping bags in World War One, which really upsets me a bit,” said
Barbour.
Reporting
by James Davey; Editing by Stephen Addison and Mark Potter
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