Coronavirus: H&M lines up supply chain to produce protective medical equipment

The brand, which shuttered all of its UK stores due to the virus last week, said on Sunday that it would be utilising its supply chain capacity to start delivering protective medical equipment for doctors and nurses “as soon as possible”.

The retailer said new chief executive Helena Helmersson spoke with the European Union and “offered the company’s help”, and the brand “started to prepare the production of personal protective equipment for healthcare providers”.

H&M have suppliers all over the world, but the majority are based in China and other Asian countries, including India, Bangladesh and Vietnam.

According to Reuters, H&M will be focusing on producing protective masks as a priority, as well as gowns and gloves for doctors and nurses dealing with coronavirus patients.

H&M’s head of sustainability Anna Gedda said: “The coronavirus is dramatically affecting each and every one of us, and H&M Group is, like many other organisations, trying our best to help in this extraordinary situation. We see this is as a first step in our efforts to support in any way we can. We are all in this together and have to approach this as collectively as possible.”

Last week, H&M’s main rival Inditex offered to make hospital garments for stretched hospitals in its home country of Spain.