Proudly SA face-masks now online

Proudly South African (Proudly SA) has established an internet portal to help South Africans source locally made fabric face-masks to combat the spread of the coronavirus (COVID19). 

The initiative will enable the country’s clothing and textile sector to retain jobs and support the economy, while also ensuring that local clothes manufacturers are able to meet the pressing demand for fabric face-masks. 

The Proudly SA initiative was inspired by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement that the wearing of cloth face-masks in public is mandatory from 1 May.

“It is imperative that reliable sources of locally made masks are made easily available,” says Proudly SA Chief Executive Officer Eustace Mashimbye.

The concept of the portal was as a result of discussions with the SA Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union; Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) and The Manufacturing Circle, around steps to align the clothing and textile manufacturing industry’s initiatives with the needs of the public and businesses.

All companies listed on the site have confirmed with the clothing bargaining council that they are genuine manufacturers that produce locally made fabric masks, support local jobs and operate under conditions that promote worker health and safety.

 To help consumers select masks, the portal provides a link to fabric mask guidelines published by the DTIC. The site also links corporate buyers with mask producers and displays the manufacturer’s details, mask images, production capacity per week and unit costs.

“We must support our local businesses, which have the capacity to produce sufficient masks to meet the country’s needs. We call on all corporates and retailers to use the portal to source their masks and to liberate any medical grade stock back to essential services,” says Mashimbye.

Ouma Tema (35), the founder of Plus Fab, says her business was badly affected by COVID-19. She started the business nine years ago and sells her products on various online platforms, such as The Space and Zando. The company employs 16 South Africans. 

A member of Proudly SA, Tema grabbed the opportunity to manufacture face-masks for the portal. “We started as soon as we received the opportunity. Our production capacity is 1 200 masks per day, and we have branded and non-branded masks available,” shesays.  

For more information, visit www.proudlysa.co.za/covid_19/covid_19.php#

Manufactures can obtain more information by emailing bongani@proudlysa.co.za

-This article was originally published in the GCIS Vuk'uzenzele.