Individuals and fashion companies wishing to do so can donate sections of fabric that are appropriate for making the kinds of masks that are needed. This fabric, which is vital for this aid initiative to work, is sent to volunteer fashion designers who then create the masks in accordance with the AFNOR SPEC’s recommendations. They are then distributed among people who have requested them by registering on the website beforehand (with priority given to vulnerable people and/or people on low incomes).
The retail sector is the final link in this aid chain – it looks after mask drop-off, storage and pick-up. Alongside a number of other retailers (Intermarché and Monoprix), Carrefour and its wide network of stores (Carrefour hypermarkets, Market supermarkets and convenience stores) take delivery of the masks made in their store entrance areas and then distribute them to each beneficiary. 6000 Carrefour, Intermarché and Monoprix retail outlets across the whole of France can be selected on the website by fashion designers, ensuring a high level of regional coverage.
Set up by Alexandre Jardin, the “masque solidaire” (charity mask) campaign puts fabric providers and volunteer fashion designers in contact with distribution networks so they can provide the poorest and most vulnerable people with masks for free. Carrefour stores are involved in the initiative, functioning as pick-up and drop-off points.