As Prime Minister Boris Johnson repeatedly slams profiteering during the coronavirus crisis, one business has defended its £32 price tag for a 500ml bottle of hand sanitiser.
Bristol has already seen price hikes for a number of highly sought-after items recently, including for toilet paper and flour at a long-established shop in Stapleton Road.
Another business which has now been questioned by its customers is Mr Pets, an online pet store which sells bottles of hand sanitiser gel.
One customer emailed the business on Wednesday morning (March 25), claiming it was 'profiteering' before asking it to make such products available only to NHS workers.
The email, seen by Bristol Live, read: "Whilst looking for medical supplies for my mother's unequipped GP practice, I came across your website offering hand sanitiser for £32/500ml.
"I implore you to make these stocks available only to NHS front line.
"Ambulance crews are going out without sanitiser or basic PPE and here you are profiteering.
"Medical front line workers will certainly die in this epidemic and you have the power to reduce their risk. Do the right thing."
In response, a staff member for the pet store said they are donating hand sanitiser to health workers on the front line.
She said: "We are actively donating a large quantity of sanitiser to those in need, including nursing homes and paramedics.
"Please send me the details of your mother's unequipped GP practice and we will send them a bulk order free of charge."
She went on to say the cost of such products was 'going through the roof' due to a global shortage of a manufacturing materials.
"There are plenty of goods available to the NHS, I am extremely frustrated when I hear about this ‘lack of PPE’," she continued.
"They simply need to be more dynamic with regards to their supply network and there wouldn’t be this problem.
"The cost of these products is going through the roof due to the global shortage of raw materials required to manufacture which has a knock-on effect to the whole supply chain."
Mr Pets has been contacted for comment.
