Shangri-La Group has collaborated with Diversey and local Non-Governmental Organisations to provide over half a million masks to local communities across seven countries in Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka
Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok has partnered with Diversey, a leading global hygiene and cleaning company, and Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) – Cedar Learning Center (CLC) – in Bangkok, Thailand to provide the most vulnerable members of society with face masks, an item now mandatory when one is out in public in Thailand. Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok is one of 21 participating Shangri-La hotels across Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka collectively donating 12,500kg of used, clean bedsheets, duvet covers and pillowcases to local NGOs to be repurposed into half a million reusable face masks. The hotel joins sister properties in Colombo, Hambantota, Johor Bahru, Kota Kinabalu, Penang, Surabaya, Jakarta, Manila, Cebu, Singapore, and Yangon in this meaningful initiative.
In Bangkok, the hotel is looking to contribute up to 30,000 reusable face masks for communities in need during this period, with the support of NGOs such as the Cedar Learning Center, a refugee initiative based in Bangkok that provides education and humanitarian aid for refugee children and families most in need. With the help of CLC, Sri Lankan and Pakistani refugees and asylum seekers will receive an additional source of income from the sewing of face masks which will be distributed among the refugee community living in Bangkok.
The upcycling of clean, used linen into face masks also provides Shangri-La Group a meaningful way to help reduce environmental wastage. If new linen was produced to manufacture half a million fabric face masks, it would have incurred 60 million litres of water (the equivalent of 23 Olympic-size swimming pools) and a carbon footprint of 150 tonnes of carbon dioxide, equivalent to 63,000 litres of petrol being combusted*.
Mr. Kyle Pretorius, Resident Manager of Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok said: “We’re deeply committed to helping our local communities in Bangkok as many ways as we can. The pandemic has affected each and every one of us and this initiative not only offers some protection from COVID-19 to those most vulnerable but is also helping provide communities with livelihoods during this difficult time.”
Niroshan, Founder and Director of Cedar Learning Center said: “I just want to say thank you to Diversey and Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok for giving us the linen to make the masks. This initiative is generating jobs amongst the refugee community in Bangkok and providing those who do not have enough money to buy a mask with one. This will help make our community strong. Thank you so much.”
Mr. Vikas Mittal, Country Business Director – Diversey Thailand, Vietnam and Indochina said: “One of Diversey’s global priorities is to support local communities, particularly during COVID-19. The Linens for Life Face Masks Programme is a great example of how Diversey, together with our customer hotels and partner NGO’s is providing simple hygiene items to those who really need them and helping prevent the spread of infection.”
With hygiene and safety being top-of-mind for many, the Shangri-La Group has recently introduced its “Shangri-La Cares” commitment, reinforcing the Group’s efforts to caring for people as we begin welcoming guests back to our hotels and resorts. As part of its ongoing efforts to create a trusted and nurturing environment for guests, the Group has partnered Diversey to implement a series of safety standards and precautionary measures across its hotels.
Shangri-La’s partnership with Diversey on the L4LFM programme builds on the successful Soap For Hope collaboration between the two entities globally, which has seen 427 tonnes of hotel soap slivers recycled into 3.5 million new soap bars for at-risk communities over the past three years.
