AnyBrand has launched a range of sustainable face coverings, which they hope can be part of the package that helps events get back to business. They are safely re-usable, made from recycled materials, recyclable at end of life and an effective barrier to COVID-19. In this guest blog AnyBrands Mask Founder Colin Graham explains why AnyBrand masks are the safer, sustainable option for events and beyond.

Single use masks fly in the face of sustainability – with a recent study suggesting we are undoing last years’ progress reducing single use plastic with one disease ridden product – the disposable face mask.

Researchers calculations have predicted that: “if everyone in the UK was to wear a single use plastic mask every day for a year, that would create 128,000 tonnes of plastic waste per year… Completely avoidable if people use reusable masks.” (Professor Mark Miodownik) 

 At AnyBrand we wanted to find ways to help industry get back to business. Face coverings are an important tool in the armoury to minimise the need for social distancing; we have made them even safer through our discovery and use of HeiQ Viroblock, a textile treatment, which is tested effective against the SARS-COV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. 

We undertook a lot of due diligence to verify its effectiveness and are confident that face coverings treated with HeiQ Viroblock are 20 times more effective against COVID-19 than an untreated mask.

These face coverings are safely re-usable because the (COVID-19) virus can’t survive on the HeiQ Viroblock treated material, which means they can be removed and placed on a surface without becoming a vector for transmitting the virus – which is a significant problem with untreated re-usable masks. Sustainability runs through the core of AnyBrand Mask’s business ethos, so finding face coverings that were both sustainable through re-use and safe was crucial.

The face coverings are made from recycled materials and have been shown to remain effective against COVID-19 through at least 30 washes at 60°c and because the virus can’t survive on the material they only need washing when they get dirty.

In an ideal circular economy we would be able to recoat the items, but at this stage we’re not set up for that, so the best we can do is know that the material is recyclable. One airline we are talking to is using over 1 million disposable masks a month, which can be replaced by 60 thousand of our treated re-useable masks, and these can then be re-cycled instead of going to land fill sites.

The HeiQ Viroblock treated masks are also more cost effective than the alternatives and can be branded to suit any design. Find out more about the product at www.anybrandmask.com or follow us on twitter @AnyBrandMask.  

This blog originally appeared in our September 2020 newsletter. Sign up receive monthly event sustainability news, case studies and guest blogs direct to your inbox using the form below.