Since 6 July 2020, the wearing of face masks has been mandatory throughout the entire public transport network in Switzerland. In fact, the Federal Office of Public Health recommends wearing masks wherever social distancing is not practicable. Increasingly, voices calling for a sustainable and officially recommended alternative to the previously widely used FFP masks and medical masks are getting louder. For this reason, the Swiss National COVID-19 Task Force has worked out the details of a recommendation and defined the standards to be met. An expedient textile solution for Switzerland which meets these standards comes from within Switzerland, with no long transport routes or reliance on international supply chains.

Swiss cooperation

With the product from the two companies based in the east of Switzerland, Schoeller Textil AG and Forster Rohner AG, the Swiss market now boasts the first textile mask featuring the label Testex Community Mask. Together with the EMPA, Testex has developed a testing procedure which analyses textile masks with regard to their filter function, spray resistance, comfort of wear, reusability and additionally skin-friendliness of the textiles. By now, numerous Swiss and international consumers, as well as the employees of major companies have satisfied themselves of the suitability of the Swiss Community Masks for everyday use, the companies report.

Recyclable fabric made with 60 % recycled fibres

The high-quality fabric components in the mask were developed by the innovative Rheintal-based company Schoeller Textil AG. The two-layer polyester fabric is hydrophilic (having an affinity to water) on the inside and hydrophobic (water-repelling) on the outside and furthermore features an antibacterial finish. Thanks to the cotton-like feel, the fabric offers pleasant wearing comfort. The sustainable fabric consists of 60 % recycled fibres. Within the framework of the wear2wear recycling cooperation (www.wear2wear.org ), the masks can be recycled once again when they reach the end of their life cycle.

The reusable mask is made up by Forster Rohner AG in St. Gallen and at its European subsidiaries. It is said to impress with optimum fit and tested skin tolerance. All components of the mask comply with the OEKO-TEX Standard 100. The testing process screens for numerous controlled and non-controlled substances.

“Masks with the OEKO-TEX Standard 100 label are safe to wear,” Schoeller Textil says. “Forster Rohner also added a fashion component to the technically innovative mask. The subsidiary, Jakob Schlaepfer AG, created a special print for the mask of the kind otherwise only developed for famous couture and preÌ‚t-aÌ€-porter fashion labels around the world. In addition to white and plain-coloured masks, a limited edition of available print designs emerges, or specific colours or even individual print designs are created for major customers.”

The Community Masks are available online at:

www.cloth-shop.com

www.jakobschlaepfer.ch

www.forsterrohner.com

www.schoeller-textiles.com