The shops and brands giving back during the coronavirus crisis
Shop conscientiously and charitably with the fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands giving back to those fighting coronavirus from the frontline
THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF’S EDIT
The Socialite Family
For many of us who are fortunate enough to be healthy right now, the unexpected downtime has meant re-evaluating our living space – adding new touches here and there. If you’re in the market for a new throw, look to gorgeous French lifestyle brand The Socialite Family, which is currently donating 20% of the profits made from its Copertina plaid to the crèches operated by the AP-HP (Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris), where the children of medical staff are currently being looked after.
Editor-in-chief’s pick: Plaid Copertina in rose, £40 – buy here
Daphine
Timeless jewellery brand Daphine is committed to ensuring that no woman should have to stay within a home that puts them at risk of experiencing domestic violence. For the month of April, Daphine is donating 20% of online sales to Solace Women’s Aid, a charity helping women and children escape domestic abuse in London.
Editor-in-chief’s pick: Mene Bangle, £75 – buy here
THE FASHION DIRECTOR’S EDIT
The Emergency Designer Network
The London fashion industry has built its reputation on the calibre of its young creatives, so it’s little wonder that many of them are leading the response to the unprecedented demands of coronavirus. The Emergency Designer Network was established by designers Bethany Williams, Phoebe English and Holly Fulton, who wanted to ‘galvanise local-level production’ and provide scrubs for NHS workers and carers after they had each been approached directly by desperate hospital staff. Well-connected industry insider Cozette McCreery created a GoFundMe page to raise funds for the necessary materials, but the designers are committing their time voluntarily.
Fashion director’s pick: Bethany Williams printed T-shirt, £230 – buy here
Alighieri
Nobody knows how the coronavirus outbreak is going to impact fashion brands in the long term, but it’s highly likely that young independent brands will be severely hit by difficulties such as reduced credit lines, unpaid invoices and a general tightening of purse strings. So the fact that so many of these less-established designers are giving back and supporting the less fortunate is a truly heartening development. London jewellery brand Alighieri is donating 20% from its website sales to the Trussell Trust, which supports food banks in the UK, resources that are experiencing significant extra pressure due to coronavirus.
Fashion director’s pick: The Unreal City earrings, £210 – buy here
Burberry
Luxury brand Burberry has been the leader of the British fashion industry’s response to Covid-19, using its global supply-chain network to fast track the delivery of 100,000 surgical masks to the NHS and repurposing its trench coat factory in Castleford, Yorkshire to make non-surgical gowns and masks for UK hospitals. The brand is also funding research into a single-dose vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and is donating to charities including FareShare and The Felix Project which tackle food poverty across the UK.
Fashion director’s pick: geometric frame sunglasses, £200 – buy here
Ralph Lauren
As one of the best known American fashion companies, Ralph Lauren is doing a huge amount in the United States: committing $10 million through its corporate foundation and providing 250,000 masks and 25,000 isolation gowns through its manufacturers. But the brand is giving back in the UK as well, not least to its long-standing charity partner The Royal Marsden where it has funded Covid-19 testing equipment so that NHS staff and those patients who may be immunocompromised due to treatment for cancer can be quickly identified and isolated to avoid further transmission. Patients and NHS staff from other hospitals will also be tested using the equipment that can provide results in under four hours.
Fashion director’s pick: The Earth polo, £95 – buy here
THE BEAUTY DIRECTOR’S EDIT
BeautyUnited
Over 40 different beauty brands have come together to launch the BeautyUnited initiative. The group was formed by Beautycon founder and CEO Moj Mahdara and also includes some of the entrepreneurs of the beauty industry, such as Gwyneth Paltrow (Goop), Huda Kattan and Mona Kattan (Huda Beauty, Kayali and Wishful), Sharon Cutler (UOMA Beauty), Charlotte Tilbury, Drew Barrymore (Flower Beauty), Debbie Perelman (Revlon), Bobbi Brown (Evolution_18), Victoria Beckham (Victoria Beckham Beauty), and more. As of 22 April, the group has raised over £5.9 million to support frontline workers.
Beauty director’s pick: Charlotte Tilbury Magic Serum Crystal Elixir, £60 – buy here
Sanctuary Spa
Sanctuary Spa is working in conjunction with Work Perks by donating 50,000 samples of its hero Body Butters and Body Washes to key NHS workers at The Royal Marsden Hospital, Cambridgeshire & Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Royal College of Nursing, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust Early Intervention Team and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust, among many more.
Beauty director’s pick: Wet Skin Moisture Miracle, £8 – buy here
L'Oréal Group
L'Oréal UK & Ireland has announced that it will donate 400,000 hygiene and care products to frontline healthcare workers, in partnership with In Kind Direct and Blue Light Card. This will include products from L'Oréal Paris, Kiehl's, Lancôme, Urban Decay, YSL, House 99, L'Oréal Paris Men Expert, La Roche Posay, CeraVe, Vichy, Roger & Gallet, Baxter of California, Kérastase, Redken, Matric and Decléor.
L'Oréal will also donate 100,000 La Roche-Posay-manufactured hand sanitisers to support NHS and HSE, and 10,000 Examination Gloves to the London Ambulance Service through the L'Oréal Young Scientist Centre at the Royal Institute.
It will support small businesses by freezing the payments of its most vulnerable very small and small-sized customers in its distribution network, including hair salons until businesses resume. Additionally, L'Oréal UK and Ireland has shortened its payment times for small suppliers who have been most exposed to this economic crisis.
Finally, Garnier is giving 300,000 free bottles of the new Garnier Pure Active Hand Sanitiser Gel to essential retail staff working at Boots, Tesco, ASDA and Sainsbury's.
Beauty director’s pick: Lancôme La Vie Est Belle Intense EDP, £60 – buy here
Dr. PAWPAW
Dr. PAWPAW has recently launched its front line initiative, giving away two free lip balms to NHS staff who are suffering from sore hands and cracked lips. Since launching the initiative, the brand has given away close to 30,000 products.
Beauty director’s pick: Dr. PawPaw Original Balm, £6.95 – buy here
Molton Brown
Molton Brown has offered a complimentary trio of Ultra Pure Milk Soaps to customers to help flatten the Covid-19 curve. Further to this, the brand has donated 25,000 Ultra Pure Milk Soaps to Beauty Banks. Molton Brown is also supporting NHS staff across the UK by sending bottles of Hand Lotion to hospitals; a total of 3,000 bottles are being distributed across hospitals in England and Wales.
Beauty director’s pick: Geranium Nefertum Eau de Parfum, £110 – buy here
MAC Cosmetics
MAC Cosmetics has announced that its long-standing VIVA GLAM campaign, which supports organisations and programmes providing essential needs and services, will dedicate £8 million towards 250 organisations all over the world that are on the frontlines helping people at higher risk during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Beauty director’s pick: Viva Glam II, £17.50 – buy here
Clarins
The brand has delivered 50,000 kits of nourishing plant formulas and comforting aromas to frontline NHS staff that are working around the country. The kits will contain Clarins products including Hand & Nail Treatment Cream, Day & Night Creams and Shower Gels, and will be delivered directly to hospitals nationwide.
Beauty director’s pick: Limited Edition Bronzing Compact, £32 – buy here
REN Clean Skincare
The brand is gifting a super-size Evercalm Ultra Comforting Mask to calm irritation and dryness caused by protective medical face masks. Previously the brand provided over 3,000 products to multiple organisations that deliver products to NHS workers, including the Beauty Banks Helping Hands Appeal. The packs include the brand's Atlantic Kelp and Magnesium hand washes and lotions as well as moisturisers, and face masks which are being sent to NHS staff that are facing this epidemic every day.
Beauty director’s pick: Evercalm™ Overnight Recovery Balm, £40 – buy here
THE LIFESTYLE EDITOR’S EDIT
Glossier
Hip make-up brand Glossier has launched its first hand cream, of which the initial 10,000 tubes were donated to healthcare workers battling coronavirus. The hand cream is now available to buy on the Glossier website and while profits aren’t going to charity, the initial initiative and the fact we’re all applying serums to our hands more regularly than ever, we deem Glossier a brand to be supporting right now.
Lifestyle editor’s pick: Glossier Hand Cream, £16 – buy here
Barbour
British heritage brand Barbour is largely known for its waxed jackets, gilets and sturdy boots, but during both world wars, the 126-year-old brand swapped fashion for frontline survival kits, making sleeping bags for soldiers during WWI and weather-proof clothing for those fighting in WWII. Under the instruction of chair Margaret Barbour, the fashion label is doing it again, this time reopening its factories and changing up its production line to make protective gowns for frontline healthcare workers helping to fight coronavirus. While profits from Barbour’s fashion sales aren’t currently going towards fighting the virus, given its efforts to help – and the fact it’s providing work and a safe workspace for its employees – it’s a brand to be supporting at this time.
Lifestyle editor’s pick: Barbour Classic Beadnell® Wax Jacket, £199 – buy here