To help school children from disadvantaged families who cannot afford a computer to follow lessons from home, Ontex is donating 50 laptop computers. The end-of-lease devices have been decommissioned and will be donated to families in the area surrounding Ontex’ headquarters in Aalst, Belgium, through local charity 4Dewereldgroep Aalst.

“This donation will help us help hundreds of disadvantaged families in the region,” says Nele Buyl of 4deWereld Aalst. “Single parents or large families with quarantined children often use cell phones to follow lessons remotely with great difficulty, or the children miss classes altogether. Giving children access to a computer at home helps us to work towards more equal educational opportunities, also after the Covid-19 pandemic.”

“Since the pandemic began, Ontex has donated more than 5.3 million Ontex products in 14 countries on four continents,” says Annick De Poorter, executive vice president Sustainability and Innovation at Ontex. “For many years, we have been donating locally as part of our environmental and social policy, trying to reach the most vulnerable groups in our community, such as the elderly in poverty, families with financial difficulties and refugees.”

To ensure that donated products benefit the most vulnerable groups in society, Ontex has established a donation policy with guiding principles to increase the transparency of donations. For example, it ensures that donated goods reach the right place.