Louis Vuitton Donates 2,500 Face Masks to New York's MTA Workers
The company announced plans to produce supplies last month.
After shifting several of its workshops to producing face masks in the wake of the coronavirus, Louis Vuitton is now allocating supplies to some of the most dire areas around the world. The French label has reportedly donated 2,500 of the masks specifically to New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) employees, as detailed by The Cut.
Several masks were said to already have been doled out to the MTA staff at the end of March as COVID-19 continued to spread throughout the city, though it hasn’t stopped the virus from taking its toll on the workers. Reportedly more than 80 have died since the pandemic hit, and thousands have tested positive.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has recently implemented further changes to the transportation system in order to help combat the spread. Last week, he announced that the subway would close down every night from 1 a.m. until 5 a.m. to allow for additional cleaning, a move that hasn’t been enacted in over 115 years, as The New York Times notes.
Though Louis Vuitton’s donations may not be able to fully provide for the MTA’s more than 74,000 employees, the resources still come at a time when the city continues to grapple with managing the virus amid limited supplies.
“As an important French House, Louis Vuitton wishes to commit at its level to producing many thousands of masks that will be distributed within the region, at no charge, to protect those who are most exposed,” CEO Michael Burke stated previously when speaking of the company’s decision to produce masks. “This production is the fruit of a wonderful collaboration with the regional sector of the textile industry.”
Elsewhere in fashion, DSPTCH has recently launched its own durable cotton ripstop face coverings, seeking to raise money for those most affected by the virus.
