Covid 19 Journal | Check In #1

  Date: 23/4/2020

From guerilla photoshoots in the back garden to virtual styling sessions and production meetings, our team is moving forward as best we can.

We set up this Covid Journey Journal to keep you updated on all things Basic Rights, and to share how we’re adapting, adjusting, and generally trying to stay sane in the midst of a pandemic.

Our first check-in is with our head of production, Paul, who is based in Thailand.  

 Read on to see what he’s working on, how he’s spending his days and how he’s adjusting to the new normal.

Paul Sucharitkul

Production Head

Bangkok, Thailand

4. Current Projects
Working on Rubbish Collection 3 production, and AW20 at the moment.

Workload has remained unchanged as we are sticking to our production plan for our upcoming collections.  The safety measures that we have in place here in Thailand just makes visiting our manufacturing partners more difficult. 

Perhaps the workload is a little heavier because we are constantly adapting, and finding creative solutions to deal with the progressive government measures to curb covid-19 infections. While our safety, and more importantly, the safety of our partners and community is our number one priority, it is also important to take the right actions to mitigate and manage the disruption across our supply chain. Needless to say, this adds to the work!

6. Describe the steps/surroundings to get to/from the factory?
Normally, I take public transportation to get to our manufacturing partners, which the sky train, the underground, taxis, and motorcycle taxis. However, in light of the corona virus, I avoid any public transportation and just use motorcycle taxis when I need to. Its fast, cheap, and more importantly, in open air. Motorcycle taxis are common in Thailand and you can get one via apps like Grab (Uber). Wherever I go though, I am always wearing a mask (a norm considering the bad air quality in the city) and constantly use hand sanitiser.

7. What is your focus at the moment?
From my side of things (production) we are taking steps, and doing what we can to support our manufacturing partners and the people in our community by sustaining our orders and ensuring that they have work and job security in a time when most brands have put a hold on everything. 

 The situation in Thailand seems to be getting better as infection rate is declining. We are all hopeful that things will return to normal in the coming months. Until then, we remain in solidarity with our partners and our community.

8. What's keeping you sane right now?
Well, I’m a bit of an introvert so I enjoy the time in quarantine, or isolation. I have a lot of interests and spend my time researching, and reading up on those interests. I am also working on my classic car restoration so I am able to work on that at home. But besides that, wine helps a lot; red, full-bodied wines right at around 6pm on onwards.