US sports apparel firm Under Armour is making and distributing masks and hospital gowns for health care workers at the University of Maryland Medical System and several other medical facilities in the state. The action is part of a larger effort by the Baltimore-based company to support the state’s medical community during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company plans to make more than 500,000 masks, assemble and distribute 1,000 face shields and make thousands of hospital gowns in Baltimore, according to US media reports.US sports apparel firm Under Armour is making and distributing masks and hospital gowns for health care workers at the University of Maryland Medical System and several other medical facilities in the state. The action is part of a larger effort by the Baltimore-based company to support the state's medical community during the COVID-19 pandemic.#
It also announced it will provide face masks to Baltimore-based LifeBridge, which runs Sinai Hospital, Northwest Hospital, Carroll Hospital and other facilities. It is discussing with Johns Hopkins Medicine, MedStar and other institutions about their needs for supplies.
Randy Harward, Under Armour’s senior vice president of advanced material and manufacturing innovation, will lead the brand’s medical gear effort. Harward typically works in Under Armour’s The Lighthouse in Port Covington, where the brand develops products and does small-batch manufacturing.
Harward said more than 50 Under Armour employees, including materials scientists and footwear and apparel designers, are working on the project based at The Lighthouse.
The team focused on designing a protective masks that could be produced quickly and in high numbers and could provide an additional barrier against the virus to shield health care workers. They are making one-piece masks that do not require sewing.
Mask cut-outs will then be passed off to a group of Under Armour volunteers and hospitals for folding and distribution. Harward foresees manufacturing as many as 100,000 masks a week.
Employees at the Locust Point headquarters have volunteered to stuff more than 50,000 fanny packs with supplies for medical professionals, the company added.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
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