Tailor making masks in fight against virus

By PETER ESILA
A LOCAL tailoring company is embracing the challenges brought by Covid-19 in the last three months by manufacturing non-medical facemasks.
Joie’s Tailoring Ltd became a 100 per cent locally owned company in January.
The company has a 14-year track record in the PNG garment manufacturing industry.
Under the new ownership of Janet Sios and family, and the Frangipani group of companies, the tailoring company took a more personal approach when dealing with its range of clientele.
“Selling non-medical facemasks as a concept came about after being specifically requested for by some of our clients,” director Janet Sios said.
“We have in the last few months embraced a fresher and more vibrant take on the sales and manufacturing aspect of not just the garment and manufacturing industry but by the fashion and design landscape here in PNG.
“This optimistic approach has strengthened us over the last three months in embracing the challenges of carrying on our business whilst also being mindful of the current global Covid-19 pandemic.
“When undertaking this exercise, our design and production team sourced a two-layer, cotton cloth design, which has since been updated to incorporate a pocket type layer that will enable users to insert tissue paper as a secondary form of filtering.
“This design, however is subject to change as we are currently working with organisations who have taken into consideration the centres for disease control and Prevention – issued guidance or alternatively the Kaiser Permanente instructions as the basis for our sample face covering designs.
Sios said they have had good customer feedback so far.