Tieks launches Operation #SewTogether to mobilise the company’s resources and millions of fans to produce masks for frontline medical providers
Los Angeles-based shoemaker Tieks by Gavrieli launched its campaign, setting up a mask production line in Los Angeles. The company retooled their facility, purchased a fleet of sewing machines and retrained the Tieks team to create masks that could be immediately donated to local hospitals.
The company launched Operation #SewTogether, which called on Tieks customers to get engaged in this life-saving cause, offering $50/£41.09 gift cards for every 25 masks sewn and $100/£82.18 gift cards for every 50 masks. The company has also created an online resource soliciting donations of masks and offering detailed instruction on how to make masks at home.
Since its launch, Operation #SewTogether has reached millions of people through Tieks’ popular social channels. Within 24 hours of launching the campaign, thousands of masks are already en route to hospitals and clinics – with the supply growing rapidly.
This effort was conceived when Tieks CEO Kfir Gavrieli was made aware of the pending mask shortage through a friend whose sister is a frontline medical provider. He later learned that medical personnel were spending their free time sewing masks themselves.
Gavrieli immediately sprung into action, engaging international business contacts to identify global suppliers and logistics providers who could deliver masks to meet the shortage. As part of the campaign, Tieks will be making a cash donation to secure additional masks from suppliers overseas.
“Overnight, we have managed to create a work-from-home factory with thousands of amazing members of our Tieks family, who have mobilised to pump out hundreds of thousands of masks,” Gavrieli said.
“As soon as I learned of this coming shortage, I knew we had a responsibility to reorient our business to get masks into the hands of those who need them most. We’ve seen the tremendous power of our Tieks community many times before, but the response so far has been beyond anything I could have imagined. There is an overwhelming desire to help. We are merely mobilising and facilitating this effort. By sewing together, we can and will save lives together.”
