Captain Tom the Record Breaker
Captain Tom Moore is now listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the individual who has raised the most money by charity walking, raising over £30 million for NHS Charities Together. His 100th birthday was celebrated with an RAF flypast over his home and birthday greetings from the Queen and Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.
In this worrying time of COVID-19, some luxury fashion brands have risen to the occasion, showing an altruistic flair by placing communities and their employees first. Let’s look at a few examples of who’s done what in the UK.
Burberry
Burberry has committed to producing at least 100,000 pieces of protective medical wear for the NHS at its currently re-purposed Yorkshire trench coat factory. Burberry CEO Marco Gobbetti said:
“Since the outbreak of Covid-19, our priority has been the safety and wellbeing of our employees, our customers and our communities. While we continue to take mitigating actions to contain our costs and protect our financial position, we are also committed to safeguarding jobs and supporting the relief efforts during this global health emergency.”
But the brand’s pledge to fight the virus doesn’t end there. According to the Burberry website, the brand is:
- using its supply chain network to expedite the delivery of the 100,000 masks to the NHS
- funding research into a single-dose vaccine developed by Oxford University
- donating to charities such as FareShare and The Felix Project that are dedicated to addressing food poverty in the UK
Burberry Supports its Employees
Not everybody is taking advantage of the UK Government’s furlough scheme, designed to save employees from redundancy. Burberry has confirmed that the brand would not rely on government support in the UK, unlike some other fashion brands. The label will itself dig deep into the confers and pay the full salaries of employees who are unable to work. Another nice surprise is that Marco Gobbetti, along with the other board of directors, is taking a 20% pay cut between April and June this year. The money will be donated to the Burberry Foundation COVID-19 Community Fund.
Mulberry
Mulberry also revealed that it will use its handbag factory in Somerset to make 8,000 gowns for NHS workers operating in Bristol.
Thierry Andretta, CEO of Mulberry told Walpole:
“I’m so pleased Mulberry is able to play a role in supporting the NHS and the vital work they do in the fight against COVID-19. I’m proud the Mulberry team was able to work so quickly to transform our leather goods factories to start producing PPE equipment and play our part in protecting local communities.”
The West England-based label is also supporting their local Bristol ‘Scrub Hub’ – a network of voluntary community groups who are making scrubs for NHS staff. Mulberry is cutting large quantities of fabric which will then be stitched by volunteers.
Mulberry has also partnered with the National Emergencies Trust (NET) in order to deliver vital aid to those most affected by the coronavirus. As such, the brand has donated 15% of its UK digital sales from 23 March to 24 April 24 to this cause, raising a total of £75,000.
Barbour
To address the shortage of PPE in the United Kingdom, Barbour is committed to producing 23,000 protective gowns for frontline healthcare professionals. The brand has replaced the manufacture of sought-after wax jackets, instead making medical gowns. Chairman Margaret Barbour told BBC that the initiative arose from her close relationship with the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle. The Royal Victoria was the first hospital in Britain to treat coronavirus patients in the country.
Will the Kindness Continue?
One day, and we don’t know exactly when yet, COVID-19 will belong to the annals of history, gone but sadly not forgotten. Let’s hope that the kind deeds and positive attitude demonstrated by these UK luxury fashion brands linger long into the future.
