Fashion educators from the De La Salle College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) and the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Textile Research Institute (DOST-PTRI) are collaborating to develop a Philippine standard Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

According to a press statement from Benilde, the project “aims to provide a long-term solution that would supply the country with PPE specially designed for the Philippine conditions with the use of available local materials.”

DOST-PTRI Director Celia Elumba invited Benilde’s Fashion Design and Merchandising (FDM) Program team to co-create the design and patterns for the prototype, which will later be produced by DOST-PTRI.

The manufacturing of the PPEs will be done by Filipino clothing merchandise provider Power Fashion Inc.

The statement said the PPEs will be carefully created and would still undergo “proper testing standards and quality evaluation by clinician-partners with the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH).

In Benilde’s statement, FDM Chairperson Christine Benet explained that the water-repellent PPEs currently being produced by the fashion industry “are only enough to shield frontliners from the most basic-bacteria.”

“To really protect them from particular viruses, especially those that are airborne, there are still certain standards to be met and proper testing protocols to be done,” she elaborated.

Benet said since the country heavily relies on imported PPE supplies, their team will come up with a “long-term solution that we must implement to help make the country be self-reliant on this fight.”

The people behind the project come from different fields. There are fashion designers, industry experts, textile specialists, and educators.

They are analyzing the needs of the medical frontliners, “gathered different imported samples, and focused on the possible entry points of the virus, from the seams and stitches to the actual closures such as zippers, Velcro, and garters. “

Since they are still searching and sourcing for the perfect local materials to be used for the Philippine standard PPE prototype, they are currently using the available water-repellent fabrics such as ripstop and nylon taffeta for the washable jumpsuits and 40 GSM non-woven fabrics for the disposable gown sets.

The Benilde FDM team has already produced and donated over 500 PPEs complete both with washable jumpsuits and disposable gown sets, head and foot covers, and masks.

For those who want to donate and volunteer you can send an email to mischellemaxim.felix@benilde.edu.ph or visit the Benilde FDM Facebook page.

This is not the only initiative Benilde has done to help fight COVID-19. The college also opened its doors to frontliners from the Philippine General Hospital’s (PGH).