LVMH—the luxury conglomerate that owns brands such as Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Givenchy, and many more—announced today that it will begin using some of its facilities to produce its own hand sanitizer in response to the shortage in France caused by the coronavirus epidemic. “LVMH will use the production lines of its perfume and cosmetic brands […] to produce large quantities of hydroalcoholic gels from Monday,” LVMH said in a statement. “These gels will be delivered free of charge to the [French] health authorities.”
Specifically, the company announced it will begin converting three of its perfume manufacturing facilities to make the hand sanitizer; these facilities are where LVMH produces many of its fragrances, including the ones for brands such as Guerlain, Dior, and Givenchy. As reported by Forbes, the first deliveries of the sanitizer are expected to be made by tomorrow and will continue rolling out by the end of the week; LVMH expects to produce 12 tons of the hydroalcoholic gel in the initial batch.
There has been a global shortage of alcohol-based sanitizers in response to coronavirus. Recommended by the World Health Organization as an effective tool to avoid the spreading of the virus, LVMH is doing its part in combatting this shortage. In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration has also encouraged licensed pharmacists and physicians to begin creating their own hand sanitizers.
LVMH, with its headquarters based in Paris, is doing its part to combat an epidemic that is heavily affecting its home country: This weekend, France closed all “nonessential businesses” including restaurants, bars, cafés, clubs, and theatres.