When Cebu was placed on Enhanced Community Quarantine last March 28, 2020, we had to make the difficult decision to completely stop operations in the factory, first, to ensure the safety of our staff and also because without public transportation, it was now impossible for most of them to come to work.
With all our store locations closed, there was very little work to be done. For a couple of weeks, we really were not able to do anything but because we have the manufacturing capacity to make PPEs, we worked with Dr. Pierre Mella, a Spine and Orthopaedic surgeon, to develop PPES which would then be distributed by to the hospitals in Cebu as well as in the neighboring provinces.
We developed 2 versions of PPEs based on the specifications of Dr. Mella. The first one was a 3-piece PPE coverall. This was designed to ensure that the doctor's wearing the PPEs would have zero to no risk of getting infected with droplets upon removal of the PPE as the back is closed.
Later on, we were asked us to develop 1 pc. coverall PPEs according to their specifications. Since then, we have been receiving orders from hospitals around Cebu such as UCMed, Cebu Doctor's Hospital, as well as from doctor's in Cebu to make PPEs for them for personal or company use.
This has kept the kept the few sewers who are able to still work in our Mandaue factory busy too and later on, to cope with the demand from the hospitals, we tapped our sewing subcontractors who normally sew bag lining for us to make the PPEs for the hospitals as well.
The most recent additions to our PPE line have been our face shields and masks. Our heavy-duty face shields are very popular right now due to its lightweight design and its unique design, which swivels up and down. The shields are also very comfortable with foam padding in front and an elastic band at the back.
Our masks, on the other hand are mostly made out of excess taffeta materials from the PPEs that we produce and our corporate clients in the hotel industry have been ordering these as well.
Other versions of the mask include a plain non-woven mask option as well as a mask with acetate shield.
All of our PPEs are sold at a very affordable price since as we wanted to make it easy for our customers purchase these much-needed protective gear at the time of this pandemic.
We have been extremely lucky to have pivoted into making PPEs as it has helped sustain our business and our workers and subcontractors during this very trying time. This, however, does not mean that we will stop creating natural, handmade products for Island Girl. We are committed to the work we do and the communities that we support and are finding ways to incorporate their capabilities to create natural, Filipino-made artisan products that are relevant to the times, as seen below.
Our pandan sun visors now come with detachable heavy duty acetate to turn them into shields.
To order our protective gear or inquire about bulk purchases and customized orders, please send an email to info@islandgirlph.com, with the subject, PPE ORDER INQUIRY.
You may also call or text +639173288990 for any queries.
