The BBC is reporting that LVMH, the owner of the Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, Tiffany, and Christian Dior lines, among others, wants to help French health authorities by remedying the shortage of hand sanitizers in the country.
LVMH is a French multinational corporation and conglomerate specializing in luxury goods, headquartered in Paris, France. It controls around 60 subsidiaries that each manage a small number of prestigious brands. The subsidiaries are often managed independently.
Starting today, March 16, LVMH said it will use all the production facilities of its perfumes and cosmetics brands to produce large quantities of hydroalcoholic gel or hand sanitizer. The free disinfectant will be delivered to French authorities and the Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, the largest hospital system in Europe.
“Through this initiative, LVMH intends to help address the risk of a lack of product in France and enable a greater number of people to continue to take the right action to protect themselves from the spread of the virus,” the company said in a statement, according to CNBC News.
Fears of catching the coronavirus have sparked a run on hand sanitizer gels across France, with many pharmacies restricting purchases to one small bottle, according to The Guardian.
Shortages of hand sanitizers have been reported across the globe, even as the CDC says washing hands with soap and water is still the best way to prevent transmission of the coronavirus. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced last week that the state would be producing its own hand sanitizer by employing inmates.
To be effective, hand sanitizer gels must contain at least 60 percent alcohol, according to the CDC.
