For healthcare professionals battling the COVID-19 pandemic, isolation gowns are among the most used and needed personal protective equipment (PPE). In response to this critical need, Dow (Midland, Mich.) collaborated with nine key partners across a myriad of industries to develop and donate 100,000 isolation gowns to help frontline workers in Texas, Louisiana and Mexico. PPE is in high demand, and many chemical manufacturers are augmenting their operations to contribute to this need, including Honeywell, Borealis, Ineos Styrolution, Eastman and many more.
“The Dow team is proud to continue developing PPE to help our frontline workers, but this effort would not have been possible without our partner companies, each of whom readily stepped up to make this project a reality,” said Michelle Boven, global marketing director for Health & Hygiene at Dow. “It’s also a testament to how quickly companies can innovate when a diverse team from different organizations across industries come together to achieve a common objective.”
Dow collaborates with multiple partners to develop and donate Level 2 medical isolation gowns (Source: Dow)
The end-product, Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) Level 2 gowns, required concepting, design, testing, package development and a supply chain. In this case, each collaborator brought their unique expertise to the table, all donating valuable time and resources to the project.
- The gown is made with polyethylene nonwoven coated with a layer of polyethylene film made with resin donated by Dow.
- Fitesa manufactured the nonwoven material that provides tear resistance and soft touch.
- Cadillac Products Packaging Company provided extrusion coating of the film making it durable enough for AAMI Level 2 performance.
- 3M and Shurtape donated the tape to provide barrier performance on the gown sewn seams.
- Mobility technology company, Magna International, Inc., – identified through Dow’s relationship with Volkswagen – provided resources to cut and sew the gowns.
- DuPont provided isolation gown design expertise.
- Landaal Packaging Systems has donated all the boxes to ship the gowns.
- Plastixx FFS Technologies donated the bags for each gown to be packaged in for distribution.
- The 100,000 AAMI Level 2 gowns will be distributed equally to government agencies in Mexico and in the states of Louisiana and Texas.
“Our teams are problem solvers by nature and their passion around helping during these unprecedented times has been nothing short of inspiring,” said Frank Eupizi, director of engineering, Magna International. “It’s been an honor to witness the same passion at Dow and to collaborate with them to provide medical gowns for healthcare professionals using the skills and expertise normally applied to producing automotive seat covers. We are grateful for the opportunity to make a difference together.”
“Many companies have shown tremendous ingenuity and speed in changing over production to meet the needs for respirators, masks, face shields, hand sanitizer and other products critical to fighting this pandemic,” said Boven from Dow. “With the accelerated product development, testing and certification of these medical gowns, Dow is proud to be among these innovators and we will continue to look for ways to use our vast material science expertise to address the needs of frontline workers around the world.”
The gowns conform with ASTM and ANSI standards and are labeled in compliance with FDA guidance on non-surgical apparel.