Fashion store Bram started making masks on Monday 6 April and hopes to deliver up to 1,000 this week alone. The company’s alterations workshop has been partially repurposed for the making of the masks, which are destined for public health and care institutions as well as private companies.

“Our employees didn’t hesitate when we explained the plan,” said branch manager René Weise in a statement issued on Wednesday. Bram saw turnover in March fall by 50%, he explains.

The masks are being manufactured using Sontara material that can be boil-washed and thus used several times, which makes them more cost-effective than single-use masks. They can be used by care personnel in hospitals, though Weise says that they do not comply with FFP2 or FFP3 protection class.