Japanese companies develop cool face masks for summer
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Feeling uncomfortable and sweating badly when you wear a mask during the scorching hot summer? Worry no more, because these Japanese companies have come up with a solution.
Mizuno's masks are made with a soft stretch tricot material that is used for its swimsuits. Photo: Mizuno
To make it comfortable wearing masks during the scorching summer, several Japanese companies have come up with cool and dry masks to make it easier for people endure the difficult times and protect themselves and others from Covid-19 infections.
The demand for masks suitable for use during the summer period is increasing in not only Japan but the rest of the world. Wearing masks during this time comes with risks such as breathing difficulties.
Several companies even those that have never produced masks before are coming up with solutions, ranging from high-tech cooling fabric materials to ideas such as putting refrigerant packs in masks.
One such company is Mizuno Corp, which in late May launched sales of face masks made with a soft stretch tricot material that is used for its swimsuits and wear for track and field athletics. The price tag for the mask was 62 RMB including tax, and it sold more than twenty thousand pieces online on its first day.
Other companies such as Yonex also joined in to develop cool masks. They use a material that absorbs heat that they usually make for professional tennis players.
"As people spend more time wearing masks against the coronavirus, we hope our technology will enable users to keep cool during hot weather, even if only a little bit," a Yonex spokeswoman told Kyodo News.
The company plans to sell the mask at 55 RMB before tax. The length of the string of the quick-drying and antimicrobial mask can be adjusted.
Fast Retailing Co, operator of the Uniqlo chain, plans to start selling face masks this summer featuring a highly breathable and fast-drying material used for its popular AIRism underwear products that are cool and dry quickly.
A Fast Retailing spokeswoman said the date of the debut of the mask and its price will be announced once they are determined.
Chairman and CEO Tadashi Yanai earlier denied the firm would enter the mask market, saying it will focus on its main business of making clothes. But it has decided to take advantage of the growing customer demand for masks.
Various other companies are actively entering the summer mask market after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe fully lifted a state of emergency over the pneumonia-causing virus on May 25.
Abe declared the emergency in April, urging citizens to stay at home and businesses to suspend or shorten opening hours in an effort to prevent the virus from spreading.
While economic and social activities have gradually resumed, the government is calling on people to continue wearing face masks against a possible second wave of a virus outbreak.
The request has raised concerns about the use of masks in hot weather, partly because the number of people who die or are taken to hospitals due to heat-related conditions has increased in Japan in recent years.
The Japanese Association for Acute Medicine, a major medical group with over 10,000 members, has called on people to drink water at regular intervals and remove face masks as appropriate, as wearing them could increase both heart and breathing rates.
Knit Waizu, a knitwear maker based in Yamanobe, Yamagata Prefecture, northeastern Japan, has put on sale cloth masks equipped with ice packs.
The mask has two pockets to hold four refrigerant packs and can cool the user's face for one to two hours.
The company earlier this year sold cloth masks that are cooled and sold in vending machines, but their coolness did not last for a long time. As a result, Knit Waizu launched a reformed version of the mask.
"It's a mask that has never been seen before," said Knit Waizu executive Katsuyuki Goto. "Although it's not perfect, I hope people will use it as a measure against the heat."
The new mask sells for about 86 RMB, including tax, in vending machines and online sales are also available. The mask can be used repeatedly if cooled in a freezer.
Source: KYODO News
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