Making used PPE new again

Making used PPE new again

A boutique fashion company is helping the fight against COVID-19 and plastic pollution.

After learning about heavy demands for personal protective equipment (PPE) as well as increased litter from disposable masks and single-use medical waste, Carmina de Young (Fashion Design 2009) set about to make a radical change. Her sustainable brand is now the first in Canada to divert medical waste from the landfill and supply much-needed PPE to health-care workers across the country.

Carmina joined forces with community change-maker Lina Bowden (Business – Accounting Alumni, 1981, Business Administration Alumni, 1982), one of Fanshawe’s Distinguished Alumni Award recipients in 2000. Together they established CY Health, a division of her fashion label, and co-founded LifeCycle Revive and LifeCycle Health. The three companies form a self-contained supply chain to collect, recycle, reprocess and manufacture PPE.

Carmina de Young (Fashion Design 2009)

LifeCycle Revive collects ‘clean’ medical waste—products that aren’t biohazardous or destined for incineration— and sterilizes, shreds and liquefies it to isolate a polymer called polypropylene. The reclaimed material is then formed into pellets, shipped to LifeCycle Health and converted into spunbond nonwoven medical textile. CY Health turns that into PPE which exceeds Health Canada standards and can be recycled again after use.

Lina Bowden (Business – Accounting Alumni, 1981, Business Administration Alumni, 1982)

The LifeCycle program has received $2 million in funding through Next Generation Manufacturing Canada (NGen) and $200,000 from Bioindustrial Innovation Canada. The Carmina de Young team has also secured a subcontract to manufacture PPE for Health Canada. It began collecting recyclable waste in April 2021 and by the end of the year will produce as many as 30,000 disposable gowns per week. The company hopes to create new employment opportunities as it grows, currently sustaining 70 jobs to assist with increased production, all while maintaining Carmina’s commitment to environmental stewardship and local manufacturing.