Ritu Kumar produces and distributes face masks

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Apr 14, 2020

Womenswear designer Ritu Kumar has begun manufacturing non-surgical face masks to help battle the spread of Covid-19 and plans to produce a total of 50,000 masks by the end of the month.

 
Kumar recently rallied together a group of around 12 tailors to start producing three-ply face masks as her brand’s stores remain closed under the ongoing nationwide lockdown. “We first committed to make 20,000 masks,” Kumar told the Times of India. “But after delivering the first lot, we are now targeting 50,000 masks.”
 
The first batch of over 1,500 masks has already been delivered to a local NGO and The Red Cross on April 11, ET Bureau reported. The masks are being produced at Kumar’s brand factory under strict safety conditions. Tailors are able to maintain social distancing while working and the area is sanitised.

Kumar aims to continue to scale-up the production of masks. “Since we have more space available, we are going to request authorities to allow us to engage more tailors, so that we can speed up the process,” said Kumar. “We are hoping that others too will be granted permission and we all can contribute in this fight against coronavirus.”
 
The pan-India lockdown is currently scheduled to continue until May 3 as confirmed coronavirus cases continue to increase across the country.