COVID-19, a new type of coronavirus disease that has spread from Wuhan city of China to a global pandemic in a short time, has disconnected nearly 200 thousand people from life. The epidemic that collapsed the health system in many countries caused many large and small crises in the economic, social, environmental and political fields. One of the only things people need to do to protect against the epidemic is wearing a mask, but this has caused a huge medical waste problem. So much so that only hospitals in Wuhan, China, are said to produce 270 tons of medical waste per day when the outbreak reached its peak. The epidemic reaches a global dimension and health institutions’ ‘wear a mask’ calls further increase this amount of waste. A Canadian-based company called ShoeX produced the world’s first coffee-made mask to prevent medical waste from disposable masks. ShoeX founder Thanh Le says the mask is reusable and biodegradable. Le describes the mask that received the AATCC-100 Certificate as “100 percent vegan.” Stating that they designed the face mask called AirX not only to help prevent the spread of coronavirus, but also to protect the planet, Le said, “Facial masks should have a longer lifetime. “Entirely environmentally friendly, AirX ‘makes us all take a proactive step towards cleaner living habits.” AirX face masks, which have five different color options: white, black, gray, blue and of course brown, look quite stylish. Le also stated that very soon they will produce reusable coffee masks called AirX N95 with the same approach. AirX masks, which are available for sale on ShoeX’s official website, can be purchased for $ 19.
