Luxury conglomerates LVMH and Kering are stepping up in their efforts of alleviating coronavirus-related shortages. The two biggest parent organizations in the fashion industry have pledged to provide around 40 million surgical masks to France, one of the many countries currently running low on medical supplies. 

By virtue of its global distribution network, LVMH has already managed to source 10 million masks that are now due to arrive from a Chinese industrial supplier shortly. The order is to be repeated in similar quantities for at least the next four weeks. In addition to aiding in surgical mask shortages, the French conglomerate is using some of its perfume facilities to produce its own hand sanitizer, which has been distributed daily to health authorities since last Monday.

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#LVMHjoinsforces Given the risk of a shortage of hydroalcoholic gel in France, Bernard Arnault instructed the LVMH Perfumes & Cosmetics business to manufacture within their production sites as much gel as needed to support the public authorities. Since Monday, the gel has been delivered free of charge daily to the French health authorities and as a priority to the Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris. The LVMH Group would like to express a special THANK YOU to all those who made it possible, in particular to our exceptional production teams from @guerlain, @diorparfums and @givenchybeauty who have shown great solidarity and engagement in a spirit of collective effort for the common good. The Group and its Maisons are extremely proud and humbled to do their part in the fight against COVID-19 and to help those whose mission is to protect and care for others. As such, we will continue to honour this commitment for as long as necessary, in connection with the French health authorities. #Coronavirus #COVID19 #APHP #staysafe #StayAtHome #COVID2019france #LVMH #LVMHtalents #Guerlain #ParfumsChristianDior #DiorParfums #Dior #GivenchyBeauty #Givenchy

A post shared by LVMH (@lvmh) on Mar 19, 2020 at 10:13am PDT

The Paris-based Kering Group, a parent company to the likes of Gucci, Saint Laurent and Balenciaga, is also set to provide the French health service with three million surgical face masks sourced from China. Saint Laurent and Balenciaga are slated to manufacture their own face masks for France, while Gucci will produce and donate over one million masks and 55,000 medical overalls to Italy.

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Kering contributes to the fight against Covid-19. 2/3 The Kering Group is playing its part in combating the Covid-19 pandemic in France. The French workshops of Kering’s Houses @balenciaga Balenciaga and @ysl are preparing to manufacture masks while complying with the strictest health protection measures for their staff members, with production getting underway as soon as the manufacturing process and materials have been approved by the relevant authorities. Let’s stay strong together. More info in the link in bio.

A post shared by KERING (@kering_official) on Mar 22, 2020 at 1:35pm PDT

Many other fashion labels and celebrities are making donations to the hospitals and individuals around the world who are severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, Kim Kardashian’s brand SKIMS has promised to donate 20 % of its profits, while Nike and Kanye West have pledged to make their contributions in forms of money and food respectively.