Burberry switches fashion for PPE

High-end fashion retailers in the UK have stepped up to help meet the demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) following reports of ongoing shortages.

Firms including Burberry, Barbour, Louis Vuitton and David Nieper have all repurposed factories to produce PPE items such as gowns and masks.

The move follows reports the head of an NHS trust in southern England had asked for the help of a British fashion company, fearing his staff would soon run out of hospital gowns.

The man, who wished to remain anonymous, asked the BBC for a phone number for Burberry, which has recently retooled a trench coat factory in Castleford, Yorkshire, to begin PPE production.

The company said that it was using its global supply chain to fast-track more than 100,000 surgical masks to the UK NHS, and was also funding research into a single-dose vaccine, which is due to start clinical trials next month at the University of Oxford.

Burberry chief executive Marco Gobbetti said: “In challenging times, we must pull together.

“The whole team at Burberry is very proud to be able to support those who are working tirelessly to combat Covid-19, whether by treating patients, working to find a vaccine solution or helping provide food supplies to those in need at this time.

“Covid-19 has fundamentally changed our everyday lives, but we hope that the support we provide will go some way towards saving more lives, bringing the virus under control and helping our world recover from this devastating pandemic.”

Other firms have also reopened factories and reenlisted staff who had been furloughed to help boost supplies. The Department of Health said it was working “around the clock” to provide sufficient equipment for medical staff.