Roots repurposes Canadian factory to produce masks

PHOTO: Roots/Twitter

TORONTO – Clothing retailer and manufacturer Roots announced on April 29 that the company will be locally manufacturing non-medical masks and donating medical-grade masks, as well as donating half-a-million dollars of products to frontline healthcare workers.

To help preserve the supply of medical-grade face masks for healthcare workers, the company launched an initiative at its Toronto leather factory. Roots has repurposed the facility, in accordance with appropriate health and safety guidelines, to produce non-medical, washable and reusable face masks. According to the company, the first round of production sold out within hours.

Also, through the purchase of Roots non-medical masks, the company is donating 3,000 medical-grade masks to local medical facilities.

In addition, Roots has donated $500,000 in products to be repurposed as scrubs at local Canadian medical facilities, and has worked with partners to donate “Comfort Kits” filled with Roots products to frontline healthcare workers.

“Supporting the communities where we live, work and do business has been at the heart of what we do for more than four decades,” said Meghan Roach, interim CEO, in a prepared statement. “We are proud to be doing our part to support the amazing Canadian frontline healthcare workers who are sacrificing so much and working tirelessly through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.”