LVMH Perfumes & Cosmetics produce free disinfectant for French hospitals

Last Saturday, the French authorities ordered the closure of all shops outside supermarkets and pharmacies to contain coronavirus infection. Yesterday, the LVMH group publicly committed to employing all of its cosmetics and perfume factories (which produce dior, Guerlain and Givenchy fragrances) for the production of disinfectant hydro-alcoholic gel, which will be distributed free of charge in all French hospitals. Here's what you read in the press release:

“Given the risk of shortage of hydroalcoholic gel in France, Bernard Arnault has instructed the LVMH Perfumes and Cosmetics business to prepare its production sites to manufacture substantial quantities of hydroalcoholic gel to be provided to public authorities. […] Through this initiative, LVMH intends to help address the risk of a lack of product in France and enable a greater number of people to continue to take the right action to protect themselves from the spread of the virus”. 

Just as happened in Italy a few weeks ago, at the first signs of contagion the population has quickly exhausted the available stocks of hand sanitizer gel and masks. The initiative undertaken by LVMH is unprecedented among the many benefit projects initiated by large fashion institutions that, until now, had been limited to simple donations to the authorities. The news comes along with the closure of all Apple Stores, Supreme, Nike and Patagonia stores around the world. As Italy enters the second week of quarantine, the number of infections begins to increase in countries such as Spain, France and the United States. Some of these countries are already taking preventive measures similar to those adopted by the Italian government, while other countries, such as the United Kingdom, opt for alternative policies instead.