L'Oréal Will Now Produce Hand Sanitizer To Help Combat Coronavirus
As everyone adjusts to life during the COVID-19 pandemic, products like hand sanitizer have flown off the shelves at an alarming rate. Shortages of cleansing products, particularly to those who need it most (like medical professionals and at-risk individuals) can be and have been detrimental to combating the spread of the coronavirus. Luckily, though, major corporations are offering a helping hand. On March 18, it was announced that L'Oreal will produce hand sanitizer to fight coronavirus and help to replenish the product where it's been scarce, among other initiatives. While the CDC reports that washing your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds is the best way to fight germs, hand sanitizer with 60 percent alcohol or above is still effective and, thus, a much-needed commodity throughout this time.
"In this exceptional crisis situation it is our responsibility to contribute in every possible way to the collective effort," Jean-Paul Agon, L’Oréal chairman and chief executive officer, told WWD of L'Oréal's COVID-19 efforts. "Through these gestures, L’Oréal wishes to express its appreciation, support, and solidarity with all those who mobilize with extraordinary courage and abnegation to fight against this pandemic."
It's not yet known when L'Oreal's hand sanitizer will become available. (Elite Daily reached out to L'Oréal to confirm, but did not hear back by the time of publication.) However, the brand did share other details on its plan to use its corporate foundation to donate €1 million to various associations it partners with, so those groups can help those effected with items like hygiene kits and hydro-alcoholic gel for volunteers and social workers. L'Oréal brand La Roche-Posay will donate hydro-alcoholic gel to European medical facilities and some pharmacies, while Garnier is also dispensing free hand sanitizer to its food distribution teams.
Additionally, L'Oréal plans to put a hold on collecting debts from smaller businesses severely affected by the coronavirus and is adjusting the payment periods to better benefit distributors of L'Oréal products throughout this time.
L'Oreal is one of the many brands giving back during the coronavirus outbreak. On March 15, LVMH, a luxury fashion conglomerate that owns brands like Louis Vuitton and Dior, announced their plan to convert their cosmetic factories into hand sanitizer production sites. "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 brand said in a statement to TODAY Style. The company will distribute the sanitizing product to French authorities and hospitals at no cost.
