Dickies to produce gowns for medical workers on frontlines of coronavirus pandemic
Dickies is planning to begin large-scale production next week on medical gowns that will be distributed to healthcare workers across the country on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic, the company announced.
The Fort Worth-based workwear brand hopes to deliver 50,000 gowns in May and continue to scale up production capacity throughout the summer. The goal is to make up to 675,000 gowns by June, the company said in a news release, and as many as 3.4 million by September.
The parent company behind Dickies, VF Corporation, is converting several of its manufacturing facilities to produce the garments and planning to leverage its global supply chain, according to the release. The isolation gowns will reportedly be made from fabric sourced from another manufacturer, in compliance with Food and Drug Administration guidelines. There will be strictly enforced social distancing protocols at facilities.
Denny Bruce, the Dickies global brand president, said in the release the workwear company is standing alongside workers “in light of these unprecedented times.”
“As a heritage brand that goes to work, especially when the work gets tough, we are committed to equipping these workers with the critical medical garments they need to protect themselves as they continue the fight against this pandemic.”
As hospitals around the U.S. deal with a shortage of critical medical equipment, non-essential manufacturing companies that have been ordered to stop their normal production have shifted to making high-demand items.
General Motors has begun producing and shipping out ventilators, which have been in short supply in areas hit hard by the coronavirus. Companies and individuals in North Texas have started making face masks as more Americans are wearing them in public.
Dickies shifted its manufacturing processes during World War II to produce millions of uniforms for the military, the company said in the release. The coronavirus pandemic has led to another time of great need, according to the release, and Dickies is hoping to help the greater good with its production of gowns.
Initial production on masks is set to begin next week, the company said on Thursday.
The company also partnered with Careismatic Brands to donated Dickies-branded scrubs to U.S. hospitals hit hard by the coronavirus, according to the release.
VF Manufacturing owns brands including Vans, The North Face and Timberland.
