With recommendations to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 including the use of 60% alcohol or stronger hand sanitiser, many drinks companies have dropped their normal production in order help produce the much-in-demand product.
Brewers, distillers and even perfume manufacturers across the globe continue to work hard to produce supplies which can be donated to the likes of hospitals and high risk communities.
In the UK, HMRC has fast-tracked applications from companies seeking to remove the tax on alcohol used to make hand sanitiser; currently a spirit manufacturer pays £8.50 a litre for 43% abv spirit.)
Rapid Response
The effort has been rapid to alter production, with 130 distillers in USA, 17 in UK and further 5 across Europe having all started to amend their normal production lines in order to create hand sanitiser.
Waste Not
While some are repurposing their stills to distil pure base spirits to be made into sanitiser, including drinks giant Diageo donating 2 million litres of alcohol for production, many are seeking to utilise waste instead. The typical byproducts of ethanol distillation are being used to make sanitising gel, which already have history of being transformed into kitchen sanitisier.
Not Just Gin
It's not just distillers who have got in on the act, breweries such as Brewdog have joined the effort too,as well as British Honey. Even fashion houses such as Givenchy and Christian Dior have switched production to hand sanitisers in recent days too.
The full report is available here.