This news article originally appeared in manilatimes.net on August 12, 2016. By Steph Sison.
With the aim to provide a long-term solution that would supply medical health frontliners with standard personal protective equipment (PPE), the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Textile Research Institute (DOST-PTRI) has partnered with the Fashion Design and Merchandising (FDM) Program of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) School of Design and Arts (SDA) for the development of a standard prototype specially designed for Philippine conditions with the use of available local materials.
DOST-PTRI Director Celia Elumba invited the DLS-CSB FDM team to co-create the design and patterns for the prototype, produced by the agency and manufactured by Filipino clothing merchandise provider Power Fashion Inc.
The prototype then undergoes proper testing standards and quality evaluation by clinician-partners with the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH), who are also in the forefront of PPE innovations.
CSB FDM Program Chairman Christine Benet explained that the water-repellent PPEs currently produced by the fashion industry are only enough to shield frontliners from the most basic bacteria.