Canada Goose announced Wednesday that it would start making medical scrubs and patient gowns, which are in short supply across Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company is best known for its luxury winter apparel and extreme cold weather parkas.

Approximately 100 staff at two of its parka manufacturing facilities in Toronto and Winnipeg will aim for an initial goal of producing 10,000 units, it said in a statement.

These will be donated to hospitals starting next week.

“Across Canada, there are people risking their lives every day on the frontlines of COVID-19 in healthcare facilities, and they need help,” said chief executive Dani Reiss.

“Now is the time to put our manufacturing resources and capabilities to work for the greater good,” he said.

“Our employees are ready, willing and able to help, and that’s what we’re doing. It’s the Canadian thing to do.”

Staff at the facilities will follow public health protocols of social distancing, including limiting the number of employees within specific work spaces, and stepping up sanitation measures, Reiss added.

Ottawa reached out last Friday to manufacturers in Canada, asking those already producing masks, ventilators and hand sanitizers to scale up their production, and others to consider pivoting to produce medical equipment.

A government spokesperson told AFP they had received 1,200 responses from companies offering to help, as of Tuesday.