Alexandra, the workwear company, has been praised for producing clear face coverings to help deaf and hard-of-hearing people communicate during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Thornbury-based firm, which has been designing and manufacturing garments since 1854, was approached by clients in the healthcare and education sectors to come up with a Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) solution amid a torrent of complaints from many people struggling to lip-read or follow facial expressions with standard face masks. 
Alexandra has worked with key suppliers to produce the purpose-designed coverings, pictured, which are breathable, washable and do not mist up.
They allow lip-reading and facial expressions to be interpreted which is a vital way of communicating for the 12m people in the UK who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH).
Current guidelines allow anyone who is travelling with a DHH person to remove their mask to communicate.
Alexandra, the UK’s leading supplier of uniforms to the healthcare, hospitality, catering and other industries, has been working closely with the NHS Supply Chain during the coronavirus crisis and transformed its operations to meet the unprecedented demand for scrubs.
More than 90% of its manufacturing capacity in its UK and international factories was switched to support the NHS and the company also marshalled its extensive supply chain network to source other vital equipment.
Alexandra purchasing and category manager Nick Reynolds said: “We are pleased to now be able to supply clear face coverings because we know they will be a lifeline for the deaf community and anyone who relies on lip reading to communicate.
“As the government continues to extend the settings where face coverings are required, we hope that this project will help deaf people and those they travel with feel safer and more confident in public places.
“We are very grateful to everyone who has worked with us to complete the design and testing process, and we will be supplying the first customers with their orders in the next few weeks.”
Ayla Ozmen, head of policy and research at charity Action on Hearing Loss, said: “Face coverings present a communication barrier that result in millions of people living with hearing loss feeling even more isolated and anxious at an already difficult time. Face coverings with clear panels are helpful for them because they rely heavily on visual cues for effective communication, including facial expressions and lip-reading.
“However, as we’re a long way from the widespread adoption of these face coverings, people should also be aware that if someone who is deaf or has hearing loss asks you to step back and remove your face covering to communicate with them, you wouldn’t be acting illegally in doing so.
Mr Reynolds added: “We have now produced 5m face coverings for several different industries including healthcare and hospitality. We expect demand for PPE will continue to increase and Alexandra is committed to helping people protect themselves for as long as necessary.”
