The Face Mask Initiative
When the World Stopped, We Got to Work
When COVID-19 brought New York City to a halt, Tembo NYC quickly pivoted from making reusable totes to sewing fabric face masks. What started as a small act of service grew into a citywide effort that kept immigrant women working safely from home and helped protect those on the front lines.
Pivoting to Action
Having recently been featured in amNewYork for our work with an immigrant women’s sewing cooperative in Queens, we reached back out to share Tembo’s next step: shifting production from tote bags to fabric face masks through a Buy One, Donate One initiative.
That small article sparked a flood of orders from people who wanted to help. Within days, our seamstresses were sewing safely from home, earning income and stability during a time of fear and uncertainty — while getting masks to hospitals, shelters, and essential workers across the city.
The story also caught the media’s attention. Soon, Tembo NYC was featured in Business Insider, NPR Marketplace, Fortune, Patch, and People Magazine, generating national recognition — and proving that genuine impact can inspire the kind of PR you can’t buy. That wave of coverage is what truly sparked the surge in sales — turning a grassroots effort into a movement.
In total, Tembo NYC produced over 23,000 masks, including a large-scale order for a philanthropic organization that distributed them to cultural institutions globally. At the height of the initiative, more than 17 immigrant women were sewing from home, supporting their families through steady, fair work.
Tembo ultimately donated over 2,300 masks to frontline organizations including Project Renewal, Lenox Hill Hospital, The New Jewish Home, Visiting Nurse Services of NY, New York Cares, Invisible Hands, Word of Life International (Bronx), Doctors Without Borders NYC, Safe Horizons, and Masks for Midwives NYC.
A Global Response
As New York began to find its footing, it became clear this crisis wasn’t just local — it was global.
Partnering with the international nonprofit Unite The World with Africa Foundation, Tembo launched the Women of the World Unite campaign for Mother’s Day 2020. For every mask purchased in the U.S. using the code UNITE, Tembo donated to Unite’s “Brave Widows” sewing cooperative in Tanzania.
Within weeks, the Brave Widows produced 500 masks for local hospitals and people living with HIV/AIDS — a powerful moment of solidarity, where women across continents joined together through craft, compassion, and purpose.
Continuing the Impact
The Face Mask Initiative remains one of Tembo NYC’s proudest chapters — proof that design, purpose, and community can work hand in hand to make a real difference.
As the world moved beyond masks, Tembo continued to stand up for those most affected by the pandemic. In partnership with Sanctuary for Families, we launched a co-promotion donating 5% of proceeds to support survivors of gender violence — many of them women of color living at the intersection of abuse, institutional racism, and health disparities heightened by COVID-19.
Let’s Create Something That Matters
Today, Tembo continues to create with impact — designing ethical products, campaigns, and partnerships that empower communities and stand up for what matters.
Because when design leads with purpose, change follows.