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Workwear brand Dickies and its parent company VF Corp. have begun production of FDA-compliant medical gowns for U.S. healthcare workers. They plan to deliver 50,000 gowns in May. By June, they hope to create the capacity to produce up to 675,000 gowns and up to 3.4 million by September.
The isolation gowns for hospitals and healthcare workers will be distributed to communities throughout the US in cooperation with federal and state government leaders.
Gowns will be made with fabric sourced from Milliken & Co. VF Corp. said the company will ensure that necessary educational, screening, and social distancing protocols will be strictly enforced in route and within the facility to protect the health and safety of workers involved in the production.
“We are proud to leverage our global resources and manufacturing expertise in partnership with our Dickies brand to support the fight against COVID-19,” said Cameron Bailey, executive vice president, global supply chain for VF Corp.
In response to covid-19, VF has already made a $1.5 million donation to local communities, product donations by other brands in the group’s family, and a donation of Dickies-branded scrubs to impacted US hospitals in partnership with Careismetic Brands.
The parent company said this isn’t the first time Dickies has shifted its production in times of need; during World War II, the company helped to produce millions of uniforms for the U.S. military.