When nurses and care homes on the Island of Islay had run out of hand sanitiser, Living Wage employer Bruichladdich Distillery decided to help out and show that we are all #InThisTogether
Ailsa Hayes, shop and back office manager of Bruichladdich Distillery and Gemma McLean, manager of Spirited Soaps, saw an opportunity to help their local hospital, high school, and care home by producing World Health Organisation standard sanitiser.
The distillery provided alcohol which was added to other soap-trade ingredients such as aloe vera gel and essential oils. They initially made a 30-litre batch of hand sanitiser which local nurses were delighted with as it allowed them to continue their delivery of care to the community.
Ailsa and Gemma then went a step further and produced 1,000 bottles of 250ml for the whole island. With a population of 3,200 this made a significant impact to the island’s community.
Ailsa also worked her way through all the complex legislation to allow quick release of the sanitiser to the community, while looking after the distillery’s staff in lockdown. Gemma has shelved all the soap shop’s other orders, saying “this is the priority, until we don’t need it anymore.”
Unity and a sense of looking out for each other is strong on the island, with Ailsa telling us “I just love the vibe of living on the island. Everybody is out to help everybody, and I just love the community spirit.”
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