“It's an opportunity for us to thank those in need and give back to the community that always supports us,” says Betsy Campos, founder of unikaswim.
Since the middle of March, Toronto-based swimwear brand Ūnika Swim has been navigating uncharted waters . “Due to the fact that we cut, sew, and produce all of our pieces by hand in the studio, we had no other option but to shut down,” says founder Betsy Campos of the brand’s decision following the COVID-19 pandemic. She notes that the health and safety of her team and clients was top priority.
But soon after, Campos felt a sense of guilt. “Here I was, the founder of a company with a full production facility, sleeping at night knowing that there was demand for PPE,” she says. “As the daughter of someone working on the front lines, it really hit home and I knew I had to do something.” Fast forward about a month, and Campos is now working alongside adidas Canada to make a positive impact in their shared community. And it happened rather naturally. Being at the helm of a sustainable, inclusive and eco-friendly brand, Campos wanted to take the best approach to minimizing waste while producing masks for those in need. As swimwear makers, their deadstock doesn’t include cotton, so she had to think external.
“Adidas is good at organically knitting themselves into different communities by highlighting leaders that are making changes in diverse circles and neighborhoods, so they agreed to donate the material,” Campos explains. It also helped that the two brands were already working together on projects that were set to launch during the coming months, had COVID-19 not struck.In deciding on the design and construction of the masks, Campos took her time researching the best option.
With a fashion background, she and her team designed surgical mask covers that could be worn over an N95 mask to prolong the life period of the N95 mask. To fulfill that wish for comfort, they designed the mask with two adjustable string ties, rather than having an elastic loop around the ears.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
'It's The Wild West': To Meet Pandemic-Fueled Demand, Factories Turn To Making MasksThe COVID-19 pandemic has created a global free-for-all for manufacturing protective equipment, especially face masks. Now factories that once produced curtains or other items are churning them out.
Read more »
Self-Isolation Diary: A Day in the Life of Designer Andrew Coimbra'To be quite honest I've thought, 'what is the point?' at least five times before really reflecting and thinking more optimistically about where the world might be for the Spring 2021 retail period,' says AndrewCoimbra.
Read more »
United, Frontier now require flight attendants to wear face masks. Are passengers next?Airline unions and consumer groups say airline passengers should be required to wear face masks to stem the spread of coronavirus.
Read more »
Here's Why Christian Siriano's Colorful Medical Masks Make a DifferenceChristian Siriano's impressive team has now shipped over 10,000 masks to medical workers on the front lines fighting the coronavirus crisis, and his good
Read more »
We went inside the GM plant making coronavirus face masks. Here's what it looked likeIn less than a week, GM converted 31,000 square feet of a 2.7 million-square-foot facility from producing transmissions to face masks.
Read more »