In light of the global pandemic COVID-19 and the alarming shortage of hand sanitizer, ORLY International is reconfiguring its Los Angeles-based nail polish factory operations to produce 75% alcohol-based hand sanitizer. ORLY plans to begin production by the end of March, with the first batch of 10,000 units being donated to the City of Los Angeles with a special emphasis on serving the city’s at-risk homeless population. Subsequent batches are expected to be available for sale by early April at ORLYBeauty.com; an email sign up form will be on the website to alert for availability.
“As a family-owned brand, we’re very lucky that we have our manufacturing plant right here in Los Angeles, so we can reconfigure to produce large quantities of hand sanitizers at this time of need,” says Jeff Pink, founder and CEO of ORLY International. “For 45 years, our company has always created products based on our community’s needs, and right now, hand sanitizers are vital to helping reduce the spread of this devastating pandemic and to help keep everyone safe.”
While ORLY does not usually manufacture hand sanitizer, the team’s agility and in-house chemists allow them to pivot at this critical time. The hand sanitizer will be formulated to match ORLY’s quality expectations and core values—they will be vegan, cruelty-free, and made in the USA.
“We are extremely grateful for our entire ORLY team and for their hard work,” says Pink. “The manufacturing and distribution staff will be working in small, minimal teams to allow social distancing for everyone’s safety.”
The brand will continue to make hand sanitizer for as long as deemed necessary by Los Angeles, California, and U.S. health officials.