Brand Production Initiative for the Health Sector
Medical Fashion is a production initiative we imagined during the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 when our lives, businesses and that of the whole world were disrupted. Pivoting from our regular clothing productions to produce fabric face masks and some other personal protective equipment such as the medical scrubs, aprons, lab coats provided us an insight to the clothing needs of the health sector that we normally were not looking at. With the current machinery, and just a few additions, we could venture into a fashion brand production for the health sector in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa.
According to Fortune Business Insights, the global market for medical clothing, of which scrubs and surgical gowns are the largest segment, was $86.15 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach $140 billion by 2028. At the same time, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that health care-related jobs were expected to grow by 15 percent from 2019 to 2029, adding 2.4 million new jobs, or “more jobs than any of the other occupational groups.” (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/09/fashion/healthcare-workers-scrubs-fashion.html)
MEDFASHION by Zucchini is a fashion brand production initiative of Zucchini Fashion Center to produce protective, functional, and exquisite fashion styles and accessories for players in the health sector in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa. We do explore our vibrant and vast fashion cultures across Africa in providing suited workplace outfits for the different work activities and functions in the medical field – scrubs, lab coats and jackets, aprons, gowns, and accessories.
Who says health practitioners’ outfits cannot be trendy and fashionable in addition to guaranteeing protection? The medical profession should be provided more options in terms of style and comfort in medical workwear, without compromising functionality and protection of users. Healthcare practitioners are faced with such tasks on daily basis, and most times under high pressure, to care for the sick and the dying. Workwear with low quality and uncomfortable cuts is a limiting workwear, not to mention when it could easily tear. We must think beyond just offering functional clothing to clothing that makes them feel good about how they look.
“Feeling comfortable and stylish would definitely boost our work performance” Dr. Della (https://tfr.news/articles/2021/11/20/theatre-blues-looking-after-healthcare-workers-through-thoughtful-scrubs). The New York Times noted “It’s the one way that everyone in the hospital can express themselves,” said Chaitenya Razdan, the founder of Care+Wear, which he started in 2014 on the premise that people dealing with medical issues should feel like people, not patients. And part of that is dressing like an individual.” (https://www.nytimes.com/fashion/healthcare-workers-scrubs-fashion.html/).
At Zucchini Fashion Center, branching into the field of “Medical Fashion” in addition to serving the fashion needs of the health sector, provides our Chief Executive the opportunity to actualize her dreams of finding a converging point between her educational qualifications in Microbiology and her fashion exploits. Our production experience during the pandemic, to participating in the robust, integrated and coordinated technical and training assistance by the United Nations led agencies provided clarity in unveiling this fashion brand – MEDFASHION by Zucchini.
MEDFASHION by Zucchini
MEDFASHION by Zucchini is a fashion brand production initiative of Zucchini Fashion Center to produce protective, functional wears, exquisite fashion styles, and accessories for players – healthcare practitioners, workers and patients – in the health sector in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa.
We explore our vibrant and vast fashion cultures across Africa in providing suited workplace outfits for the different work activities and functions in the medical field.
With the support received from United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and partner UN agencies through a robust capacity building engagement and technical assistance and Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) certification of our Medical Scrubs, we are poised to create a niche in the medical fashion market.
Our products under this brand initiative includes:
- Scrubs
- Coveralls
- Laboratory Coats
- Jackets & Overcoats
- Aprons
- Gowns
- Patient Robes
- Accessories
Strengthening Capacity for Production
November 2021, we were selected to participate on the United Nations project – “Strengthening the Capacity of Nigerian MSMEs and Manufacturers to meet the demand for quality healthcare products and Personal Protective Equipment – a COVID 19 Response Project“. Of the over 5,000 applications received from businesses across the country, Zucchini Fashion Center was priviledged to be part of the 174 businesses shortlisted for the pilot project.
The project, funded by the European Union through the UN Basket Fund, and coordinated by United Nations Agencies – led by UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and jointly implemented by International Labour Organization (ILO), World Health Organization (WHO), UN Women, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) – in collaboration with the Nigerian Government. The goal is to strengthen and support the capacity of local MSMEs and manufacturers to locally produce quality PPEs and healthcare products based on international standards and regulations to meet both domestic and foreign demand. The objectives of the project included the need to address identified skills and knowledge gaps among business owners; provide quality resources and technical support to help business owners to grow and expand business operations, including facilitating procurement of requisite production equipment.
The project also sought to upgrade the participating businesses’ production processes, adopt standards and technical regulations as reference to produce high -quality PPEs and healthcare products. The products will be to meet local demand as well as for export to the ECOWAS sub-region. The expected outcome is to strengthen the capacity of selected local MSMEs and manufacturers which will include at least 30 per cent women and 20 percent youth-led businesses.
Spanning over a two-year period, Zucchini Fashion Center participated and gleaned from different business and capacity development trainings organized by the various UN led agencies and their partner organizations. Some of the engaging training sessions are Occupational Safety and Health for Enterprises; Capacity Building on Access to Finance for MSMEs; Roadmap to SON Product Certification; among several others. A very exciting part for us is hosting one of the training sessions for selected participants in Oyo State at our Center. We received production equipment as Industrial Buttonhole Sewing Machine, Industrial Straight Knife Fabric Cutter and Industrial Steam Iron from UNIDO. The World Health Organization (WHO) also sponsored a product certification for our medical scrubs with the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON).
We are immensely grateful to the Federal Government of Nigeria, European Union, United Nations – UNIDO, UN Women, WHO, ILO, UNDP – for this opportunity to be part of the project and for the immense resources provided on the project for MSMEs in ensuring that Nigeria and by extension, the West African region is prepared to combat future global health challenges. On our part we will continue to collaborate with all the United Nations agencies on the project, our initiative and many more as we journey to be the choice production, training, research, and consulting fashion company in Sub-Saharan Africa, positively impacting lives and communities.
We are priviledged and honoured to use the Federal Government of Nigeria, European Union, and United Nations logos on our brand products.
Read about UN Covid-19 Response Project
Our Medical Scrubs - SON Certified
MEDFASHION by Zucchini Medical Scrub is MANCAP Certified by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON). This was conveyed through a letter dated 11th October 2024 signed by the Director General/Chief Executive, SON, informing of the issuance of the MANCAP Certificate and MANCAP Logo TL-20874 to Zucchini Fashion Center.
The SON certification attests that our medical scrub meets specific standards and regulatory requirements and is recognized as complying with established safety, quality, and performance criteria. The certification of the medical scrubs also validates the production process employed – fabric selection, production flow, quality controls, and test records – which implies customers are guaranteed of the quality of any of the MEDFASHION by Zucchini products.
Read about SON Product Certification.
MEDFASHION by Zucchini Medical Scrub is a signature outfit on our medical fashion brand. The choice fabric is of high-quality materials – soft, breathable and durable – mostly cotton or cotton-polyester blend, and available in diverse colours suited for the different medical expertise. It is designed to offer maximum comfort, infusing exquisite, simple fashion styles, ensuring minimal places for contaminants to hide and for stains to be easily detected.
The SON certification authorizes Zucchini Fashion Center to display MANCAP Logo and number on our medical scrub having conformed with the minimum requirements of the relevant Nigeria Industrial Standard(s). Customers should always look out for this MANCAP insignia on MEDFASHION by Zucchini Medical Scrub as it is the differentiating quality factor from other products in the market.
Exclusive: Antimicrobial Scrubs
The medical and health care environments by nature are prone to the transmission of diseases and infections. More so, clothing items of health practitioners and patients are susceptible to spreading these diseases.
Over the years, there has been great improvements in ensuring to keep health practitioners protected while discharging their duties. One of such is the development of a different kind of clothing items for them, such as the Antimicrobial Scrubs.
Antimicrobial scrubs are hospital uniforms that are created with these bacteria-destroying agents infused into the fabric. Their primary goal is to stop the spread of harmful bacteria from healthcare workers to patients and between workers. (https://www.iqagroup.com/)
The production of the Antimicrobial Scrubs is strictly on orders.
Customize Your Medical Wear
We affirm the uniqueness of every individual and their desire for exclusive styles and designs. On the other hand, businesses and organizations do want custom made medical wears for their staff members.
We are open to produce exclusively preferred design(s) and styles, as well as bulk productions based on specific instructions and descriptions that you provide. We assure you of the same standard and quality of production in delivering to your specification and expectation.
Kindly click the button below to submit your production brief.