A huge number of masks are thrown out in the world: designers have figured out how to give them a new life - ForumDaily
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A huge number of masks are thrown away in the world: designers have figured out how to give them a new life

As more people get vaccinated and mask wearing rules become less restrictive, some are finding ways to maintain, repurpose and recycle their face masks. The New York Times.

Photo: Shutterstock

Masks first appeared as a sign - on the faces of people in airports, in hospitals, on the streets - a sign that this virus should not be taken lightly.

Throughout the year, masks have become the object of scientific debate, a shield, a political symbol, a salvation for small businesses. They have appeared at meetings, weddings and funerals, on the red carpet and at the presidential inauguration. Masks were everywhere.

Now, after 14 months of using the mask for protection, the decline of its popularity seems to be visible in some parts of the world. In late April, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidance saying fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks outdoors unless they are in crowds. Already, the CDC has said that small groups of fully vaccinated people — more than 1,2 billion doses have been administered worldwide — can safely gather indoors without masks.

What will happen to masks as bare faces become more commonplace? Some people aren't sure yet about opting out, either because they're waiting to get vaccinated or because of concerns — infection, being judged by others for not wearing a mask, or both. (And masks are still required in most indoor settings.) People who stop wearing them daily can still keep their masks; this way they will be prepared for flu season or another pandemic. However, it is clear - judging by the garbage on city sidewalks and in parks - many people throw them away.

But designers, informants, curators and environmentalists have many other ideas to perpetuate and bring to life the many artifacts of the pandemic era.

On the subject: Antivirus educational program: which masks are best suited for certain situations

From fashion to trash

At the dawn of the pandemic, apparel and accessory designers turned to masks as demand peaked.

In the spring, Baggu, known for its reusable bags, introduced a line of masks. According to the company, 10 units were sold on the first day. Now it slows down, but does not stop the production of masks.

“I think the pandemic has changed the perception of mask use in North America,” said Dan Small, Baggu's head of partnerships. “We feel that masks will have a niche even as we begin to emerge from the pandemic.”

Fashion designer Christian Siriano said his company has produced nearly three million masks. He noted that it is very important that the masks can be reused.

“I think the amount of single-use products now is incredible,” he said.

Students also contributed to this effort. Hannah Konradt, a senior lecturer at the Fashion Institute of Technology, was sketching a wedding dress for a school project when the pandemic struck.

“I lost all motivation to make a dress that no one would wear,” she said. “It was so frivolous.”

So she started making masks from scraps of fabric, which she shared with friends, family and the postman. When she returned to bridal gown design, she added a 2020 twist: a skirt made up of 50 checkered crinoline masks that could be removed and donned as needed.

Now, in response to the increasing amount of waste in the form of masks, many designers and artists are finding their own ways to recycle fabric and disposable masks.

Clarissa Merle, architect and CEO of Paris-based company FabBRICK, has found a way to recycle textiles, including fabric masks, into colorful decorative bricks that can be used to create furniture, lighting fixtures, acoustic panels and wall partitions.

“I never thought I would use masks in my designs,” she said.

Shanana Campanaro, founder of Eskayel textile design studio in New York, has a textile recycling bin full of masks to donate.

“Mask disposal is a huge problem,” Campanaro said. “I always see them littering the streets and it upsets me that they don’t end up in the bin.”

Discarded masks also end up in oceans and waterways. Alison Jones, Clean Ocean Action Program Coordinator, said volunteers collected 2020 masks on New York and New Jersey beaches in October 680. Lynn Adams, president of the Pacific Beach Coalition in California, said volunteers report an average of 717 masks and gloves each month.

“It’s a very small percentage of what it actually is,” she noted.

Marina DeBris, an artist from Sydney, Australia, has found around 300 face masks on beaches since last spring. She has incorporated them into wearable garbage outfits and installations such as The Inconvenience Store, which is full of repackaged items collected from the beaches.

Poramite Thantapalit, an artist based in New Jersey, started using masks in his sculptures and installations last year. Previously, he worked with plastic bottles, egg cartons and other recycled goods.

“I try to save the environment and reduce waste,” he said.

Seoul-based designer Haneul Kim has discovered a way to melt used face masks at high temperatures to create colorful folding plastic chairs. He said that it takes about 1500 masks to make one chair, but so far he has made 50. (For those who do mathematics, that's 75 masks.)

DIY and donations

There are other, more accessible ways to deal with the problem. DIY (“do-it-yourself”) makers have turned old cloth masks into all sorts of things, including violin stands and doll clothes.

Christina Wong, a Los Angeles-based artist and founder of the Auntie Sewing Squad, whose volunteers have been making face masks throughout the pandemic, said they are now starting to think about how to change the purpose of face coverings. One volunteer made bow ties from them for his cat, Alex.

Joy Cho, a Los Angeles-based designer and founder of the Oh Joy! Fashion brand, plans to turn her family's worn-out masks into clothing patches.

“The best way to use up your old sheet masks is to give new life to a pair of jeans or a jacket,” she said.

Miranda Bennett, designer and owner of Miranda Bennett Studio in Austin, Texas, plans to wash and reuse some of her old masks in lavender sachets for closets or lingerie drawers. She sees these creative projects as a way to reimagine the mask - "a symbol of separation and isolation" - as something new.

Kat Pfingst, a senior fashion design student at Drexel University, was thinking about turning her DIY masks into bracelets and realized they would be the perfect little lipstick pouches or hair clips.

Many epidemiologists say the next pandemic doesn't depend on if, but when.

“Choose your best masks and don’t throw them away,” Bennett said. “Don’t throw them in landfills.”

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The rest can be given. At the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the New York Historical Society, archivists are collecting pandemic items such as masks for future exhibitions and are still accepting donations.

“We want to capture what it was like to live through this pandemic so that future generations can understand it,” said Margie Hofer, museum director of the New-York Historical Society. So far, she said, the museum has acquired several "incredibly inventive and very New York" masks from local artists and Hofer's "all-time favorite": a penguin-print mask donated by top U.S. infectious disease specialist Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Blank masks can also be donated to local textile processing plants in many cities, where they will be redistributed or converted into new materials.

“We have an opportunity to do something meaningful,” Bennett said. “This is a chance to find a “white stripe” even in these masks.”

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