Christchurch based New Zealand natural skincare company Linden Leaves has put its professional skills and business network into action since the 22 February Earthquake to help provide practical assistance to quake survivors in the city.

The company, together with three suppliers have designed and produced 4000 units of a hand sanitiser product which they have donated to the city. The hand sanitiser is designed to kill over 99% of bacteria without the use of water required. The bottles are being distributed to those in need around the city today by the Lions Club who will be using 4WD cars to reach harder hit areas.

Linden Leaves also arranged delivery of a gift of 1200 units of large hand sanitisers from affiliated company Shieling Laboratories to the Christchurch City Council’s City Care Emergency Services team yesterday. These are now being distributed at water stations in the worst hit areas.

The brand’s creative director, Juliet Blair, was out of Christchurch at the time the quake hit and spent the hours following watching the television news and ascertaining the safety of staff and family in Christchurch via email. “After the initial shock” says Blair, “my thoughts went out to those without power and basic services. Linden Leaves was so lucky to survive the quake with no injuries to staff and having power and email communication allowed us to focus on trying to provide some practical help. We had the idea of hand sanitisers and got in contact with our manufacturing laboratory and other suppliers, who were all quick to agree to help, and have been simply amazing in their support of this.”

Linden Leaves says the New Zealand business community has been quick and generous in their support of the project and supporting Christchurch business and deserve thanks for their incredible generosity and offers of support, including accommodation alternatives for staff, stock warehousing offers and general business support.

They are keen to praise the 27 staff at Shieling Laboratories who returned to work after a full shift to donate their time to filling and labelling the hand sanitisers. Courier Solutions Ltd. and Premier Plastics Ltd. also both generously donated services and packaging stock to the cause.

“There are a lot of exhausted people in Christchurch”, says Blair “we are trying to make sure those in need have access to sanitary gel if they don’t have running water to keep themselves clean and safe from bacteria.”

The Linden Leaves team are now working full weeks and are providing support to retailers to tidy the aftermath of the shake and be able to reopen and provide retail services for the public as quickly as possible as their premises are checked and deemed safe.

The retailers who have managed to open are reporting busy trading and Blair puts it down to two reasons. “I think some people are looking for a sense of normalcy and really feel in need of something nice for themselves in the midst of grim conditions, and then there are those shopping in retail or online for others, who know the value the gesture of a small gift can have for those who have lost so much.”

ENDS

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