France has millions of unsold masks after crisis
PARIS » The French praised the altruism of their prized textile and luxury goods companies when production facilities got diverted from churning out the latest fashions to making cloth masks designed to protect the general public from the coronavirus.
Now, the companies that helped France avoid a feared shortage of virus-filtering face wear for everyday use say they need help unloading a surplus of 20 million masks. They asked the French government for assistance promoting and finding buyers for the unsold output of the industry’s national effort.
Hundreds of textile and clothing manufacturers answered the government’s call for millions of masks superior to homemade versions. President Emmanuel Macron last month sported a military-tested model embroidered with the tri-color national flag to advertise the “Made in France” masks.
Yet within weeks, demand dried up for the domestically produced masks that sold for a few euros at supermarkets and pharmacies or were available in bulk for free distribution by businesses and local governments. Manufacturers and the government acknowledged that many suppliers and consumers still opted for cheaper disposable face masks from Asia.
“They were more readily available,” Guillaume Gibault, founder of trendy underwear brand Le Slip Francais (The French Brief), told French public radio service RFI.
Gibault sees the slump as a marketing and distribution problem. The washable, specially engineered masks produced by his company and others saw “a very strong and immediate demand” before the excess accessories piled up in warehouses and factories.
“Not everyone necessarily knew about what was available around them, and the public didn’t necessarily know where or what to buy,” he said.
Some textile companies complained that the French government was slow to validate their masks as effective in filtering out small particles, which slowed their ability to get to market before people were allowed to start emerging from their homes and needed masks in
stores or on public transportation.
A group of industry representatives got time with two junior government ministers this week to discuss the surplus masks, as well as broader concerns about the health of fashion, textiles and luxury goods makers amid the economic fallout of the pandemic and in the long term.
After the meeting, the ministers offered praise and pledged the government’s help to spread the word to distributors, local governments and other potential customers about the environmental and employment benefits of the French masks and finding buyers at home and abroad for the surplus stock.
Agnes Pannier-Runacher, state secretary to France’s economy minister, told French broadcaster RTL that the government’s objective “is to convince large buyers to switch from single-use masks to reusable washable textile masks.” Gibault and French Textile Industry Union President Yves Dubief agreed to lead the mission.
“In a few weeks, the French textile industry has managed to mobilize and redirect its productive apparatus on our territory in order to provide the French durable textile masks with guaranteed filtration in sufficient quantities,” Pannier-Runacher said. “This
An employee sews face protective masks in Chanteclair Hosiery, a French knitwear clothing manufacturer in Saint Pouange, east of Paris.
impressive effort is to be commended. It must now be long-term and be given support.”
The French Textile Industry Union was the first to sound the alarm in early June on this problem of surplus.
“The demand was such that no one had anticipated such a brutal halt. But in the textile industry, once launched, production does not stop with a snap of the fingers,” Dubief told French magazine Challenges.
Some French companies were disgruntled because it was the French government that urged many of them to get into mask-making and to increase capacity so the country would produce 5 million masks a day that could be sold or given to the general public, local governments and corporations by mid-May.
The knitwear manufacturer behind the mask Macron
will go away is no longer enough. It never was.
I wish I had more impactful words to share today. This issue is so big that there aren’t enough words on the page to address it. I’ll leave you with this. This is not a new issue. And, it’s not yet an old one (as it’s not yet in our past). Soon, we’ll be going back to school and work. We’ll have less time on our hands to think about BLM. But, just because we’re distracted
flashed during a school visit at the beginning of May, Chanteclair, has a lot more where the president’s came from. Owner Thomas Delise also has many unanswered questions.
The French government said this week that part of the joint industry-government mission will be “to support the sector in adjusting its production capacities to collective needs in masks over the next few months.” For his part, Delise thinks that blocking large imports with trade barriers might help what ails his company.
“We don’t know how the pandemic will evolve. We don’t know which instructions the government will give, we don’t know what kind of equipment the professionals will want. So today, yes, we have a surplus stock of 600,000 masks and it obviously has an impact on my company.”
again won’t mean the issue is solved. And, just because we may no longer see it won’t mean that it’s gone or that it’s no longer time to speak up. If BLM is important to you today, it should remain important in one week and one month and one year and five years.
In the early hours of June 8, 2020 we lost a true Native Son of Humboldt County. Louie Antone Lorenzo was born on a dairy farm located just northwest of Ferndale in a small gathering of buildings known as Camp Weott. This was on January 12, 1925. Over the years he would be joined there on the farm by nine brothers and sisters. He loved the Eel River Valley and made Fortuna his home until his passing.
In his youth Louie was a rugged athlete. He was good at just about anything physical during his years in school, but he loved the rough and ready contact of football best. He was a tenacious boxer who enjoyed squaring off against an opponent in the ring. He was tough in the ring and was one of those boxers who didn’t mind taking a few punches to get his own devastating blows in.
Louie joined the Army AirCorps in January, 1945 and was soon maintaining and repairing aircraft here in the US as well as at bases overseas. He was the kind of man who could fix just about anything.
When Louie met Vivian Machado he was smitten. She was the love of his life and that was evident by their 60-years of marriage. She, too, loved the outdoors so it was a match made in heaven. They raised two sons John and Dennis and remained a close-knit family until her untimely passing in 2011.
Louie loved the outdoors. This worked well for him in his chosen field of work: construction. He spent most of his working years doing heavy construction on roads. During his career he spent a good deal of his time working on Highway 101. There was much work needed on that road and Louie was glad to do it. The harder the job, the better he liked it. He liked the roll and flow of road construction. Every job… every location different. But he especially liked the fact that road construction offered him time off between projects or when the weather was bad. Work hard. Time off. Time for fishing!
When it was time for fishing there was very little that could keep him off the water. His favorite anchorage was Shelter Cove and he lived for the Salmon season. Well, yes, he would fish for just about anything that was in season but Salmon fishing a few miles out to sea was his joy. When it was allowed, he would dive for Abalone. And he had his own set of crabpots. No, Louie did not bemoan the bad weather, he saw the time off from construction as an opportunity to fish!
Louie was not a talker. He did not regale his friends and siblings with fishing stories or tales from his past. He made every word count. He had a sharp wit and a dry sense of humor. If you were to ask him, he might tell you about the time he caught a Halibut that was bigger than him! The photo in the newspaper could not fit the entire fish in… but the look on Louie’s face told the whole story. No words needed.
Louie is survived by two devoted sons, John Lorenzo of Fortuna and Dennis (Cathy) Lorenzo of Sutter Creek; grandchildren Dustin (Alyssum) of Ukiah and Kelley (Ron) Howard of Ketchikan Alaska, greatgrandchildren Ronnie, Alyssa, Caleb, Sarae, and Ava and his brothers Evo, Ronald, and Richard, his sisters Evelyn Docili, Elsie Giacomini, and Dorothy Bolcioni as well as many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife Vivian, his parents, brothers Joe and Henry and sister Irene Martin.
Cremation care has been entrusted to Goble’s Fortuna Mortuary.The family will have a service celebrating Louie’s life at a later date.
Andrew (Andy) Rocco Araneo of Eureka passed away peacefully at home among family on May 13, 2020 from liver cancer at age 76. Born on November 27, 1943, in Kew Gardens, Queens, New York, to Andrew and Marie Araneo, Andy was the oldest of four children. The Araneo family lived in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn where Andy’s promising athleticism was cut short when he contracted polio at age nine. The family moved to the Long Island suburbs when he was 13. After starting college at St. Bonaventure University as a Physics major and trying a few other colleges, Andy graduated from the State University of New York at Stony Brook with a Bachelor of Arts in English (’68) and a Master of Arts, also in English (’70). He studied there for one more year towards his PhD.
While at Stony Brook in the fall of 1967, Andy met Rosalyn (Roz) Keller, beginning a relationship that lasted for 53 years. After finishing their schooling and working for a couple of years, he and Roz moved to San Francisco in 1973 where Andy became a cab driver at City Cab. He was a frequent contributor of articles and poems to The New Deep City Press, a magazine published by cab drivers in the ’70s. In 1977, he invested in a Yellow Cab Company taxi medallion, becoming a taxi owner/operator. During that time, he attended San Francisco State where he student-taught and earned a teaching credential.
It was also in 1977 that Andy and Roz married. In 1980, they welcomed their son, Adam, into the family. In 1981, the trio went “back to the land,” moving into a trailer on 40 acres of land in remote Weitchpec, CA, a 45-minute drive from a phone or grocery store. While Roz took care of Adam, Andy installed a water system in their creek to create electricity for the trailer, planted a huge garden and enjoyed catching steelhead in the Klamath River. By 1983, the appeal of isolated life in the back country had worn off and the family moved 70 miles southwest to Eureka. Two years later, their daughter, Sophia, was born in Arcata.
From September 1985 to June 1986, Andy was the general contractor overseeing and participating in the building of their home in Freshwater on land purchased from dear New York friends who lived down the hill.
In the late 1980s, he took classes at Humboldt State University and added a paralegal certification to his resume. Whatever else he was involved in, Andy was always the family’s auto mechanic, carpenter, maintenance man and gardener.
In the early ’90s, frustrated by Eureka’s unpleasant air quality and inspired by local environmental activist Ida Honorof, Andy founded a California non-profit, the Clean Air Network, with the support of the Northcoast Environmental Center. He challenged the local air quality district to hold the Simpson and Louisiana Pacific pulp mills accountable for complying with legal emissions standards. They had never been required to do this as they were always granted "variances" or permission to exceed legal emissions limits. Andy persisted, attending every variance hearing armed with facts gleaned from official documents from Sacramento and with the support of the California’s Assistant Attorney General Richard Roos-Collins. Finally, at one fateful hearing, a letter from Roos-Collins to the North Coast Air Quality Management District was delivered during the meeting, expressing support for Andy’s efforts and encouraging the district to do its job. For the first time in its history, a Simpson variance was denied. In December, 1992 Simpson closed its pulp mill, citing “costly environmental demands”. (They had also lost a $5.8 M suit brought by the Surfrider Foundation in 1989.) Louisiana Pacific adopted a chlorine-free, less toxic pulp process.
During this time, Andy also wrote the monthly Clean Air News to keep his supporters updated and served as vice president on the Northcoast Environmental Center Board of Directors.
Andy was an avid golfer, always striving to improve his game. He passed his love of the game to Adam, teaching him to play when he was four. They travelled to tournaments and played many courses together. In his later years, Andy enjoyed traveling, visiting Viet Nam, Thailand, Costa Rica and Mexico In 2016 he re and Mexico. In 2016, he realized a lifelong dream when he and Sophia took a trip to Italy where they visited the birthplaces of his grandparents near Naples and traveled throughout southern Italy and Sicily.
Additionally, Andy enjoyed riding his motorcycles, listening to music (especially jazz), playing with his beloved dog, Shorty, eating Italian food, watching sports on television, being in nature and writing poetry. After buying a 25’ Catalina sailboat in 2003 and christening it he and Roz joined the Humboldt Yacht Club and, with Shorty in her red life jacket, competed in sailboat races up and down Humboldt Bay.
For decades, the highlight of Andy’s week was the Wednesday night poker game. His quick wit, riotous sense of humor and love of laughter, matched by a cadre of fun-loving friends and intoxicants, led to great hilarity and some of his happiest times.
Andy is survived by his wife of 43 years, Roz, his son, Adam of Rancho Mirage, CA, daughter Sophia of Santa Rosa, sister Therese of Ithaca, NY, and brother Frank of Prescott, AZ. He is predeceased by his parents, Andrew and Marie, and his brother, John.
Andy’s family thanks Hospice of Humboldt for their kindness and support during his final months. Special thanks to Nurse Molly and Social Worker Sarah. Also thanks to Becky Peterson, pre-COVID caregiver.
Donations in Andy’s memory can be sent to the Northcoast Environmental Center, PO Box 4259, Arcata CA 95518 or to the environmental organization of your choice.
Imagine,
Mary Christine Look, lovingly known as Christy, passed away March 11th, 2020 as her husband and friends were traveling through the States doing exactly what she loved to do. Christy passed peacefully at one of their favorite spots along their journey in Needles Ca. Christy was born 1/17/46 to Jerry Stevenson and Jeanne Wambold. She was born in Pacoima California, grew up in Granada Hills and graduated from James Monroe High School in 1963. She later made her way here to Humboldt County were she met the love of her life Larry Look. Her pride and joy in life were her two kids Stacey Bishop and John Sheridan and of course her loving husband of 40+ years. Christy spent her earlier years as a secretary for an insurance company. Once she retired she loved spending her time with family, cooking, traveling and sewing. She was the go to for all your sewing needs, whether it be hemming pants (even if she made them a little too short), fixing holes or even clothes for the grandkids dolls. Her Grandkids were special to her, and she was over the moon to be here to see her great grandchildren be born. Her family will miss her tremendously.
Christy is survived by Her Husband Larry Look, Daughter Stacey Bishop (Jim Bishop), Son John Sheridan (Kris Moore), Daughter Amy Look Louthan (Chad Louthan), sister Wendy Barsanti (Mickey Barsanti), motherin-law Maria Look, sister-inlaw Raeanne Thomich (Joe Tomich), Linda Myers and brother-in-law Ray "Rusty" Look Jr. Grandkids Heather Hill (Ryan Hill), Jenny Warren (Dustin White), Jessica Bishop (Lars Cox), Nick Sheridan, Nicholas Bailey (Nicole Bailey) and Jamie Louthan. Great Grandkids Peyton White, Kaylee & Kinley Hill, Kalista Sheridan and Jaxon Bailey.
Christy is Preceded in death by her Mother Jeanne Wambold(Stevenson) and Father’s Bill Wambold and Jerry Stevenson.
Services/celebration of life is TBA.