The Fashion and Business Resource Innovation Centre FABRIC, Tempe Ariz revealed on the 15th of January about the collaboration to produce 500,000 FDA-approved, reusable, level 2 & 3 isolation gowns for health professionals.

Many companies like Falcon engineering, Wulff Contracting, On Point Manufacturing, and Katchina Apparel Manufacturing collaborated with FABRIC to effectively produce American- made reusable isolation gowns. It's estimated that 500,000 reusable gowns can replace 50,000,000 disposable gowns in landfills and are also economically beneficial as said by AZ Fashion Source and co-founder of FABRIC, Sherri Barry.

FABRIC aims at corporate social responsibility and also responded quickly in collaboration with private industries, local government, and nonprofits to support apparel entrepreneurs, when the US was hit by a pandemic in March 2020. Many local donors like Flinn Foundation, Virginia G. Piper, Charitable Trust, Pakis Center for Business Philanthropy, Tempe Innovation Development Association, Thunderbirds Charities, BHHS Legacy Foundation, Silicon Valley Bank, PCA Skin, AZ Community Foundation, and AZ Bio, joined hands and efficiently carried out massive PPE production under FABRIC. The President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris also paid a visit there in October. 

Revenues collected from the sales were refunded to FABRIC Tempe for especially supporting the apparel entrepreneurs with the machinery, guidance, resources, and access to no-minimum manufacturing. Angela Johnson, the co-founder of FABRIC Tempe, claims their improved capability to meet the demand more effectively now. Mentioning their investors' generous support and aid towards the mission, Johnson says, they can establish Arizona as “modern fashion industry capital”. Investing in a closed loop and circular ecosystem; and setting up direct-to-consumer apparel brands, apparel entrepreneurs will be manifesting great opportunities and ideas in the future.

KEYWORDS: reusable isolation gowns, sustainable PPE kit, closed-loop apparel, circular textile model, apparel entrepreneurs