Feature: How New Balance, Superfeet, Brooks Running, Under Armour, and Feetures Are Helping COVID-19 Healthcare Workers
It’s difficult to not dwell on the challenges right now but these amazing brands are finding ways to help medical workers and communities. We’d like to take a moment to highlight five of our vendor partners who are quickly adapting their businesses to lend assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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First up, New Balance. In an Instagram post that has been liked over 1 million times, the brand announced that they had engaged a portion of its U.S. manufacturing workforce to develop face masks to address the significant demand for the supplies. They are currently coordinating efforts with government officials and local medical institutions for distribution. In addition, the New Balance Foundation has committed $2 million in non-profit grants in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to support local, regional, and global communities.
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Next, our insole partners at Superfeet. A week after a national announcement opening their doors to help those needing access to personal protective equipment (PPE) to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, Superfeet and sister company Flowbuilt Manufacturing have started production of PPE masks with 3D-printed elements. It took less than a week for Superfeet employee-owners to mobilize their product development and operations departments to pivot from insole production to making life-saving equipment using their Ferndale 3D printing and manufacturing facilities. Approximately 30,000 of these PPE masks will be produced and distributed to hospitals in the Pacific Northwest immediately.
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Under Armour is supporting the University of Maryland Medical System’s (UMMS) 28,000 health care providers and staff by manufacturing face masks, face shields and specially equipped fanny packs, and is also exploring fabricating hospital gowns for the statewide medical system. The brand will also begin providing face masks to LifeBridge, a regional health care organization based in Baltimore.The team settled on a one-piece mask design that does not require sewing. Its origami-style folds mold the specially chosen, breathable yet moisture-resistant fabric into the desired mask shape. Mask production is taking place now at the Lighthouse, UA's innovation hub in Baltimore. The team is utilizing the lab’s knife cutter—one of the world’s most efficient, high-speed fabric cutting machines — to carve nearly 100 pieces of fabric at once. The mask cutouts will then be passed off to a group of Under Armour teammate volunteers and hospitals for folding and distribution.
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Brooks Running is spreading their #RunHappy motto by giving away 10,000 pairs of shoes to healthcare workers. In a campaign dubbed “Our Heroes Wear Scrubs”, the brand is making the countless hours healthcare workers spend on the frontlines just a little more comfortable. In just a few hours, all 10,000 pairs were accounted for and the brand is starting to ship the shoes as they explore more ways to support this community in the near future.
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Lastly, Fleet Feet partnered with Feetures to donate up to 20,000 pairs of socks to medial professionals. Starting April 2nd, for every purchase made on a pair of Feetures socks at Fleet Feet, Feetures will donate one pair to a medical professional working in an area with great need. It's one small way we can provide comfort for those caring for our community.
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