A Sudbury firm is yielding rewards from the provincial government’s recent announcement that Ontario companies across industries must ensure women have access to adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) while on the job.
Covergalls, founded by Alicia Woods to manufacture workwear that’s tailored to women’s bodies, recently announced it had signed a partnership agreement with Mark’s Commercial, the wholesale division of the well-known Canadian retailer.
In a joint announcement, the two companies said they had been “collaborating to refine and enhance products specifically for women in the industry,” and would have between 10 and 12 women’s PPE garments ready for sale by 2025.
"We are thrilled to collaborate with a trailblazer like Alicia Woods,” Adam Gaiser, vice-president of Mark’s Commercial, said in a news release.
“She has been pioneering these efforts when no one else was, and we are committed to supporting her success. Innovation is at the forefront of our discussions with Covergalls, and our shared vision for an inclusive Canadian jobsite aligns seamlessly."
Woods debuted her Covergall in 2013 after a number of years working in the mining industry.
Inspired by her experience with poorly fitting coveralls, she decided to design and make her own, ensuring that her garment was a better fit for women’s bodies.
Since then, she’s appeared on the reality TV show Dragons’ Den, expanded her range of workwear, and become an outspoken advocate for women’s occupational health and safety.
She framed this newest partnership as an equalizer for women employed in trades work.
"What sets this partnership apart is Mark's Commercial’s unwavering commitment — not just to building our collaboration, but to ensuring a diverse inventory of PPE tailored for women in the trades,” Alicia Woods, Covergalls’ founder and CEO said in a news release.
“The entire Covergalls team is thrilled to partner with an organization so deeply dedicated to fostering inclusive work environments through gender-inclusive PPE. Their commitment is evident in every aspect of their operations."
The partnership comes after the province announced, in late November, that it was expanding its Working for Workers Act, 2023 to include a requirement of properly fitting PPE for women across sectors.
First tabled in March 2023, the Act originally only required properly fitting PPE for women working in the construction industry.
According to provincial figures, in 2023, 374,600 women were employed in a skilled trade-related occupation in Ontario, representing 20 per cent of the 1.3 million Ontarians who were employed in a skilled trades-related occupation.
