Athletic Knit shifts focus to produce ECHL-themed masks

Like nearly every business connected with sports across the world, Athletic Knit saw its business ground to a halt in mid-March as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the “Exclusive Jersey Provider of the ECHL” took a proactive step instead of just sitting on the sidelines.

“When COVID hit we were seeing our government - the Prime Minister and the Premier - reaching out and talking about the need for medical PPE, and it started with isolation gowns,” said Athletic Knit Co-President David Sliwin. “You’re hearing the hospitals saying we just don’t have enough product. So at that point we also saw that a lot of our orders were uncertain with everything going on. We said there is an opportunity here to jump on this early before things change.

“We reached out to the government and made a plea saying we want to get involved,” he continued. “We have over 250 employees ready, willing and able to help. We ended up getting in touch with the federal and provincial governments, working on contracts to be able to assist. We’ve made our fist 3,000 isolation gowns and have tens of thousands still coming in to work on. There’s an additional sense of responsibility when you’re making these things. It’s a very technical process, but it’s also been very fulfilling that we’re helping out in this case.”

As Athletic Knit got more and more involved with the production of isolation gowns, Sliwin realized that there may be another area where the company could assist.

“What I realized as time went on, is you’re seeing people walk down the streets with the M-95 and the surgical masks, and you’re hearing the hospitals say we don’t have the masks we need,” he said. “We realized we have a responsibility here. For the general population, they don’t need an N-95. With a fabric-based mask, which the CDC is urging people to use, and certain states and provinces are requiring, you’re taking the demand for the N-95 and the surgical masks from the general population and you’re pivoting and saying buy these fabric-based masks. So now all of the production that is being made is going to the hospitals and the right places, because unless you really have a critical illness or at risk, you don’t need an N-95.”

Athletic Knit’s relationship with sports properties, such as the ECHL, allows it to offer masks personalized with team logos, and at the same time, put a bit of personality on people’s faces during these uncertain times.

“You see all of these masks and they are black and scary, you see people wearing them and you can’t tell if they’re smiling or whatnot,” Sliwin said. “You talk about the mental health side of things of what’s going to happen when everyone is wearing masks, and it’s very scary. We want to destigmatize this thing and make it a little more light and normal. We are trying to get involved and make the patterns more fashionable, fun and friendly and I think that will give people their unique style and allow it to be a little less fearful and make people less anxious.”

In addition to selling gowns and masks to keep people safe during the pandemic, the company has also introduced a charitable angle to help those in need.

“For every mask that you buy, one is donated so that an at-need community is getting one of them” Sliwin said. “There’s a charitable side of things, which I think is really important so it isn’t all about profit, profit, profit. That isn’t the goal here.

“Not only that, if we’re distributing more masks to people who need them, more people are wearing them, which means we are helping to reduce the spread of this virus, which allows us to go back to what we want to do. I don’t want to make masks for a living, I want to make hockey jerseys. I want people to be playing sports and I want to go back to normalcy where I’m not stuck at home.”

What has struck Sliwin that most during this time is the cooperation that has existed amongst companies that often times are competing against each other for business.

“We are in an industry where companies are competitors and it isn’t usually a collaborative effort,” he said. “That’s just not part of it. But in this case, you had manufacturers who make isolation gowns, that’s what they do for a living, they see that the demand is more than what they can make. So, many of our contacts and suppliers connected everyone, and connected us with their customers who shared their patterns and shared their proprietary information with us in good faith. To think about the trust they had in someone they’ve never met before was phenomenal.”

For each set of masks purchased, two masks will be donated to the Second Harvest Food Rescue Organization and $5 will go directly to the ECHL-PHPA COVID-19 Relief Fund. Visit echl.com/facemask to purchase your masks today.