VF Corporation's Response to COVID-19

VF Corporation

VF Corporation Helps Overcome COVID-19

VF Corporation, one of the world’s largest apparel, footwear and accessories companies, has taken multiple actions worldwide in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. From supplying donations for COVID-19 relief efforts to ensuring the safety of healthcare workers and their own stakeholders, VF Corporation has been successfully navigating  the challenges brought on by the pandemic.

VF Donations & COVID-19 Relief Efforts

VF Corporation, the VF Foundation and the VF family of brands donated more than $10.3 million in funds, products and services worldwide to assist with urgent medical needs and offer help to those struggling in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over $7 million has been contributed in cash donations through a number of purpose-led initiatives such as the Vans’ “Foot The Bill” small business support, the VF Foundation COVID-19 Relief Efforts, The North Face® Explore Fund , Eagle Creek Adventure Travel Conservation Fund, Altra du Souffle and Banco Alimentare , and to the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) in support of small outdoor businesses. To read more about the donation towards Outdoor Industry Association, visit this article.

VF Corporation has also contributed over $3.2 million in product donations to frontline workers of the Coronavirus pandemic. These donations include over 150,000 products such as The North Face®, Vans®, and Timberland® products.

Aside from assisting the frontline heroes of the Coronavirus pandemic, VF Corporation has the production capacity to produce up to 3.4 million Dickies® isolation gowns, while other PPE donations include 250,000 Vans® canvas face masks, 15,000 surgical masks and 1,600 face masks. To learn more about VF’s COVID-19 relief efforts, click here.

In addition to PPE, the company has also provided factory and worker support by contributing $200,000 to Bangladesh, India, the Philippines, and Cambodia for COVID-19 relief efforts. These countries, being some of the most vulnerable in VF’s supply chain, are seeing widespread layoffs with little system of national support.

On top of unprecedented job losses and a sharp increase in confirmed cases of coronavirus, many people who live in Bangladesh already struggle with situations of poverty and limited health-care resources. The VF Foundation donation of $100,000 to garment workers in Bangladesh is providing a safety net for thousands of families affected by factory shutdowns precipitated by the global COVID-19 pandemic. The VF Foundation worked with its disaster grantmaking partner GlobalGiving and BRAC to ensure the donation was directed to families who needed it the most.  As a result, more than 5,500 households received a cash stipend to buy food and other necessities for two weeks. To read more about VF’s support of Bangladesh, click here. 

VF Corporation’s support doesn’t stop there. The corporation has also ensured enterprise and associate support by reducing CEO salary in half, reducing VF’s Executive Leadership Team salaries by 25% and increasing salary support for North American retail associates by 100%. They have also increased pay and benefits for U.S and Canada distribution center associates.

Support for Garment Workers

Not only has VF Corporation implemented safety protocol in their production facilities to protect their associates, but they have also joined the International Labor Organization, International Organization of Employers, International Trade Union Conference, and others in supporting the rights of garment workers throughout COVID-19.

As outlined in the Call to Action, VF:

1.     Calls on governments and financial institutions to accelerate access to credit, unemployment benefits and income-support, no or low-interest short-term loans, tax abatement, duty deferral, fiscal stimulus, and other forms of support.

2.     Recognizes the support that is needed to enhance social protection schemes and supports action to preserve jobs through different means, tax packages or social security charges and temporary unemployment programs.  VF Corporation strongly supports access to these funds so that suppliers can preserve their activities. This is vital to prioritizing jobs and incomes of workers immediately and throughout the extended period of the crisis. 

3.     Requires such funds shall be used to enable manufacturers to ensure business continuity including payment of wages for all workers regardless of employment contract, in accordance with national laws, collective agreements, and any prevailing income-support and job-retention schemes to deal with the crisis. 

4.     Promotes respect for the ILO core labor standards, as well as safe and healthy workplaces

5.     Supports the development of social protection floors and to extending social protection for workers and employers in the garment industry, consistent with ILO recommendation 202, with a view to establishing over time the responsibilities of all parties to contribute for sustainable systems.

For more information on their commitment to support garment workers, please click here.

Support for Healthcare Workers

As the Coronavirus pandemic circulates worldwide and hits more communities, a record number of healthcare workers are experiencing distress, anxiety and depression. In order to combat these mental health struggles, the VF Foundation launched a $50,000 challenge match to send healthcare heroes on outdoor adventures.

The donation is to support “HERO RECHARGE”, an outdoor adventure program designed specifically for healthcare workers and first responders on the front lines of the pandemic.  Since the program first launched in late April,  it has received more than 10,000 inquiries from healthcare workers and first responders nationwide.

Healthcare workers that are on the frontlines of the pandemic will get to recharge through adventurous experiences provided by this program. “HERO RECHARGE” includes exhilarating challenges ranging from multiday to single day adventures such as rock climbing, kayaking, surfing, and mountain biking.

 “Our goal is to address this trauma through unforgettable outdoor adventures that will nurture supportive peer relationships and give these heroes the respite and renewal they deserve.” states Ryan O’Donoghue, Executive Director of First Descents.

To learn more about the program, click here. To see how you can help, click here.

VF Corporation  is actively working to help overcome the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure the safety of healthcare workers as well as their own associates. To learn more about the company and further COVID-19 endeavors, please click here.

Target Donates $300 Million to the Fight Against COVID-19

Target

Back in March, Target announced their $10 million relief effort as part of their $300 million commitment to their team. Since then, Target has been collaborating closely with organizations to align support accordingly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Part of Target’s $300 million commitment will go to directly benefiting employees and their families.  Target pledged to increase its industry-leading pay by $2 an hour for its frontline workers until at least May 2nd.  Additionally, frontline workers over the age of 65, are pregnant or those with underlying medical conditions have been given up to 30 days paid leave.  This comes on top of expanding back-up care for all team members, temporarily waiving its absenteeism policy and covering quarantine and confirmed illness pay.  Bonuses have been given to 20,000 hourly store leads who manage individual departments.  Finally, $1 million will be donated to the Target Team Member Giving Fund, which was established in 2018, to assist team members who are most impacted by coronavirus

In state and local communities, Target is dedicating $5 million to foundations that support nonprofits addressing the greatest needs in their area, particularly for vulnerable, underserved and under-resourced communities.  Foundations receiving funds from Target include the Seattle Foundation’s COVID-19 Response Fund, which supports local orgs deploying emergency resources such as financial support and childcare, as well as the Greater New Orleans Foundation Disaster Response and Restoration Fund and its network of community organizations taking care of the elderly, homeless and more.

As part of their national response efforts, Target is giving $3 million to support national nonprofits assisting with response and recovery for impacted communities. The Center for Disease Philanthropy is one national organization that has received support from Target to continue their work building nonprofits’ response capabilities in addressing needs of the most vulnerable populations. Another recipient is Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization with a network of more than 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries.

Target is also mounting a global response, committing $1 million to support organizations that help to provide critical medical equipment and supplies to regions worldwide. These organizations include Project ECHO, an organization providing tele-medicine capabilities to remote locations and vulnerable communities in India and throughout the world; and UNICEF, which is delivering life-saving health supplies, building water and hygiene facilities and keeping kids connected to education while contributing to efforts to stop the spread of the virus.

In addition, Target supports the United Nations Foundation’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. The company is also one of the participating partners of Global Citizen’s One World: Together At Home, the global special event to support frontline health workers and the World Health Organization. Target’s grant will support ongoing work to track and understand the spread of the coronavirus, provide care to patients and essential supplies to frontline workers, and accelerate efforts to develop vaccines, tests and treatments.

For more information, please click here.

PepsiCo Takes Proactive Steps in the United States to Support Communities in Need

PepsiCo

PepsiCo’s Domestic Response

With a global pandemic wreaking havoc in millions of communities around the world, global food and beverage company PepsiCo and its philanthropic arm, The PepsiCo Foundation, are donating more than $50 million for food and other critical support needed in these vulnerable communities. As part of this effort, PepsiCo is providing funding for protective gear for healthcare workers as well as testing and screening services.

Due to many districts cancelling in-person classes in the United States, numerous students are left hungry with no school meals. In response to this crisis, The PepsiCo Foundation has provided $1 million and partnered Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign to fund emergency grants to organizations including schools, food banks, and community groups who are feeding kids. Additionally, The PepsiCo Foundation has provided $1 million and joined forces with the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty and the USDA to deliver nutritious meals to students of rural schools closed due to COVID-19, and has donated $250,000 to GENYOUth’s “For Schools’ Sake” Fund to aid in meal distribution to schools. These efforts, along with The PepsiCo Foundation’s own Food for Good nutrition program, will deliver at least 20 million nutritious meals to help increase children’s access to food nationwide during COVID-19.

PepsiCo has also donated $2 million to the Children’s Health Fund to aid mobile health clinics that are administering COVID-19 screening, testing, personal protective equipment (PPE) and support services in 21 communities. 

PepsiCo is committed to helping entire communities navigate this difficult time.  In order to support restaurant workers the have been particularly affected, the company has donated $2 million to the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation to support the Restaurant Employee Relief Fund and job training for women aimed at long-term economic recovery.  Other contributions from PepsiCo include a $3 million donation to Team Rubicon to support food delivery operations for their partners Feeding America, Meals on Wheels and others in 100 locations across the United States, and a donation of $150,000 to the Chicago Community COVID-19 Response Fund to support the city’s most in-need residents.

Recognizing that New York has been particularly impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak, PepsiCo is committed to assisting communities throughout the state.  In Westchester, for instance, The PepsiCo Foundation has contributed $500,000 to White Plains Hospital to bolster the hospital’s capacity and provide frontline medical workers with personal protective equipment, $100,000 to Feeding Westchester to give residents shelf-stable meals and fresh produce through mobile orders and drive throughs to limit contact, and $100,000 to United Way Westchester and Putnam to support area nonprofits responding to COVID-19. PepsiCo is donating $100,000 to the New York Community Trust Response and Impact Fund to accelerate FDA-approved rapid testing for COVID-19.The company has also provided $500,000 to The Robin Hood Foundation’s Emergency Relief Fund to provide immediate financial support to nonprofits that serve vulnerable groups in New York City, and has provided $100,000 to the Bridgeport Rescue Mission to support COVID-19 testing in New York City as well.

The PepsiCo Foundation has significantly contributed to the communities in the United States. To learn more about PepsiCo’s responses to the COVID-19 outbreak, please click here.

PepsiCo Provides Food and Essential Relief to Help Communities Worldwide Affected by COVID-19

PepsiCo.

PepsiCo’s International Response

As the effects of COVID-19 continue to be felt, more healthcare systems around the world need proper funding to assist the healthcare workers on the frontlines of the pandemic. In response, PepsiCo expanded their efforts to provide humanitarian relief to impacted communities around the world.

In Europe, where entire countries are on lockdown and many hospitals are over capacity, PepsiCo aims to support local health and relief systems in hardest-hit areas. The company has donated $5 million to organizations in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Transcaucasia, and Turkey to support healthcare providers and provide more than 1 million servings of food for those in need and has given $2.5 million to charitable organizations across Europe through the U.N. Foundation. PepsiCo has also donated $600,000 to the Red Cross in Italy, Spain and France to fund personal protection equipment (PPE) and health equipment for medical responders, urgent health transportation for affected citizens, logistical support for health facilities, and essential goods for those unable to leave their homes due to quarantine. Further donations in Europe include a $500,000 grant to Spanish nonprofit Educo’s “Dining Scholarships” program, a $200,000 grant to Banco Alimentar Contra A Fome in Portugal to provide close to 750,000 meals for those in need, and $140,000 to the Belgium and Netherland Red Cross outposts to support the “Watch Out for Each Other” network that links volunteers to those in need of mental and practical support.

As Latin America is expected to see an increase in COVID-19 cases, PepsiCo is helping the region prepare by strengthening their local food bank capabilities. Through this effort, PepsiCo is providing more than 10 million meals in Mexico for out of school children and their families through nonprofits Un Kilo De Ayuda and Save the Children, and is providing more than 800,000 additional meals in Honduras, El Salvador, and Venezuela with nonprofits Rise Against Hunger and United Way. Additionally, the company has donated $1.5 million to The Global FoodBanking Network to allow food banks in Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Guatemala, Chile, Peru, Panama, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic and Uruguay to stock up on key food staples, as well as train staff on how to reduce COVID-19 transmission.

PepsiCo is also investing in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, focusing specifically on  meal distribution and healthcare. They have donated more than 40 million meals in Bangladesh, Egypt, Ethiopia, Morocco, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Uganda, and South Africa in partnership with local food banks and leading nonprofit partners. PepsiCo has also joined forces with the Akshaya Patra Foundation, the Smile Foundation and the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics to provide more than 10 million meals and 25,000 COVID-19 testing kits in India. Further, the company has provided $1.6 million dollars in funding to Vietnam and the Philippines to initiate Vietnam’s “Millions of Meals” program, provide meals and medical supplies for citizens with the Vietnam Youth Union and the Vietnam Young Physician Association, and deliver assistance to over 7.6 million people in the Manila metro area with a $500,000 grant to Project Ugnayan.  In Australia and New Zealand, PepsiCo has committed more than $600,000 to deliver more than 1 million meals with Foodbank Australia and the Salvation Army Foodbank Project. As part of their work supporting healthcare systems, PepsiCo has donated over $280,000 to Tkiyet Um Ali’s Hospital Programs in Jordan and $100,000 to Lebanon’s Red Cross. Lastly, PepsiCo has provided $1.1 million  to The Hubei Red Cross and the China Women’s Development Foundation to fund  protective gear for healthcare workers in China and South Korea.

PepsiCo continues to expand its global effort to provide monetary support and necessities to communities in need during the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information, please click here.

P&G COVID-19 Response Focuses on Protecting P&G People, Serving Consumers, Supporting Communities

P&G

Protecting P&G People:

P&G people can work confidently knowing the Company stands with and behind them.

P&G is constantly evaluating and updating the robust measures already in place to help its people who are making, packing and shipping P&G products stay safe at work, and, where possible, enabling others to work from home.

This includes access control measures like temperature scans, shift rotations, queueing avoidance and physical distancing; protective equipment including hand sanitizers and masks; and comprehensive, methodical cleaning of all production areas, including regular sanitization and surface disinfection that exceeds the most rigorous health authority standards.

P&G built sustainable and robust employee policies and a culture that can support, nurture, and endure for the long term, with robust health & wellness benefits, access to virtual medical visits without cost, pay continuity, paid leave, flexible work arrangements and more.

Serving Consumers:

P&G is maximizing the availability of products that help people and their families with their health, hygiene and cleaning needs, which have never been greater. 

P&G is running extra shifts, putting idled equipment back into service quickly, and constantly finding new ways to deliver more of the products consumers depend on.

Millions of P&G products are also being donated, helping to ensure families have basic access to the everyday essentials many of us take for granted.

P&G is using marketing and communications expertise to encourage consumers to help flatten the curve and slow the spread of the virus.

And P&G is using our brands’ voices to share important safety, cleaning and hygiene messages with consumers

Supporting Communities:

P&G has a long history of supporting communities in times of need – now is no exception.

P&G product and in-kind donations so far add up to tens of millions of dollars across more than 30 brands, more than 200 different organizations, and in more than 30 countries – and will continue to increase as it works with communities around the world to support their efforts.

P&G modified equipment to produce hand sanitizer in nearly a dozen global manufacturing sites, using it to ensure its people can continue operating safely and sharing it with hospitals, health care facilities and relief organizations.

Work is underway to produce critically needed non-medical face masks in every region of the world.

And P&G leveraged P&G R&D, engineering and manufacturing capability to quickly produce face shields which are currently being used in hospitals and COVID-19 testing centers.

Nike’s COVID-19 Response Includes Innovation, Working Closely with Suppliers

Nike

Giving back to communities:

Nike’s leaders, the Nike Foundation and Nike have committed more than $17.5 million to COVID-19 response efforts around the world. The support includes funding efforts by the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners, as well as support for local response efforts in the communities around the world where Nike employees live and work. They are also supporting local organizations in global key cities as they work to meet immediate needs, such as food assistance and medical care.

Nike is also teaming up with its employees, providing a two-to-one match for all employee donations to support community organizations anywhere in the world. And it will continue to provide product support to local nonprofits and schools through Good 360 and other existing partners.

Using innovation to help:

Working closely with health professionals at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), Nike’s innovation, manufacturing and product teams have come together to provide for an urgent need: Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in the form of full-face shields and powered, air-purifying respirator (PAPR) lenses to protect against the coronavirus (COVID-19). Nike is donating full-face shields and PAPR lenses to health systems across Oregon, along with health systems in the greater Boston, Memphis, Tenn., and St. Louis areas.

Nike is also making a donation to health systems in Cleveland, Ohio, near the home of Lubrizol, which has generously donated its ESTANE® thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) polymers to support the manufacturing of this PPE. In addition, Nike is donating 250,000 three-ply disposable face masks to New York State.

Nike will continue to seek ways to further support the courageous healthcare workers in their tireless efforts to support, heal and comfort our communities through these extraordinary times.

Play inside, play for the world:

Sport brings us together as a unifying force for good. And while many athletes may not be able to play as they normally would, Nike is committed to ensuring that communities all over the world can still turn to sport as a beacon of hope and resilience that inspires us all.

Today, athletes may not be playing in front of thousands in packed stadiums, but they can — and are — playing for millions by choosing to stay at home. Inspired by athletes who are playing in their kitchens, living rooms, driveways and garages, Nike recently launched a campaign, telling the whole world, “If you ever dreamed of playing for millions around the world, now is your chance.” Nike is encouraging everyone to #playinside and #playfortheworld, and delivering new ways to access sport during this unprecedented time at home.

Helping athletes* stay active through Nike platforms.

We all need new ways to keep moving and access sport. Through Nike’s digital ecosystem — the Nike app, the Nike Running Club app, the Nike Training Club app, social channels and Nike.com — Nike is providing athletes around the world with tools, motivation and affirmation to help fuel physical and mental health.

Nike is also offering NTC Premium, the Nike Training Club’s subscription-based service, for free in the U.S. The platform includes a library of more than 185 online workouts for all fitness levels, ranging in length (15- to 60-minutes), type (yoga, total body strength, core work, HIIT sessions, etc.) and equipment needs (bodyweight-only and more).

Helping kids stay active, too

Kids are Made to Play. That’s why Nike has made a commitment to get kids moving. Nike works with partners around the world to remove barriers to entry and offer play- and sport-based programming to 17 million kids. But balancing the need to keep kids moving with the need to keep communities safe is a challenge. Many of Nike’s Made to Play partners offer excellent resources to help kids stay active at home — because active kids do better in every way, no matter the circumstances. These include the UK’s Discovery Education, Marathon Kids, Active Schools, JUMP-JAM, and the How to Coach Kids Program.

Helping people stay active at home, together with the sporting industry

Nike collaborated with the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI) and other member companies to launch a physical activity guide to support the work of the World Health Organization (WHO) to promote physical activity. WHO’s #healthyathome campaign encourages people to stay active while at home during the COVID-19 crisis, and the guide provides resources to help.

To learn more about Nike’s commitment to creating active communities for all, click here.

Working closely with suppliers

Nike is working with suppliers to support their efforts in response to the dynamic and unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 situation. The evolving and challenging marketplace dynamics mean that Nike and its suppliers must make some difficult decisions in the short term, as they work together to mitigate longer-term impacts and develop sustained viability for their businesses and employees.

Nike continues to place orders, taking into account impacts of market dynamics. Nike will continue to pay in full for finished product from all suppliers globally, while honoring previously agreed payment terms for product in production. In the case of cancelled orders, Nike policies and agreements with suppliers are, and have always been, that Nike will pay the appropriate amount of the order, depending on the stage of production as communicated by their supplier to enable the supplier to recover costs associated with the canceled order. Nike is also working with industry organizations and other global stakeholders to develop broad based approaches to address the current situation and help people who work in supply chains globally.

HanesBrands To Manufacture Cotton Masks To Help Overcome the COVID-19 Pandemic

Hanesbrands

HanesBrands Inc. announced that it will begin producing FDA-approved cotton masks at some of its factories in Latin America as part of a federal contract to combat a national shortage of face masks resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company joined a cooperative consortium of other apparel manufacturers, led by Parkdale Mills America, that are dedicating manufacturing capacity to meet U.S. demand for masks. HanesBrands expects to produce about 1.5 million masks weekly, and the consortium as a whole is expected to ramp up production of five to six million masks weekly using HanesBrands’ design and patterns.

The announcement came Saturday, March 21, during President Donald Trump’s media briefing about the federal government’s response. The company went from negotiating a contract with the federal government to beginning production in less than a week, according to a company spokesman.

Using U.S.-grown cotton, the masks are being produced in Hanesbrands’ sewing factories in El Salvador, Honduras and the Dominican Republic.

These factories would normally be producing T-shirts, underwear, socks, sweatpants and sweatshirts

For more information, please see here