“It is estimated there are about ninety million masks per day to be disposed of in Italy alone. These figures are huge … Unsustainable …” declares Domenico Guzzini, Chairman of the company of the same name based in Italy’s Marche region. “I don’t even see it as a choice; it was just something a company like ours, with the skills and know-how at its disposal, had to do. For us, conceiving, designing and producing safe, eco-friendly, comfortable, attractive personal protective equipment was a duty to our customers and the planet.”Environmental organisation Legambiente, in the person of its national chairman Stefano Ciafani, also underlines the need to produce reusable masks: “We estimate that once the country returns to full activity, tens of millions of disposable masks will be needed every day, implying high costs for the public and the environment. So it will be important to promote the use of certified reusable masks wherever possible. This will prevent the misuse of disposable products and also reduce littering with discarded personal protective equipment, which has now been added to the problem of littering in general and has become a national crisis, being monitored and reported by our thousand local associations. This praiseworthy initiative by Guzzini, a leading Italian company that has always prioritised innovation, is a valuable step in this direction”. “So we came up with ECO MASK, the reusable, eco-friendly protective mask. Produced in Italy from innovative antibacterial plastics. What’s more, we’ve offered to support Legambiente by donating part of the revenue generated to tackle the environmental emergency that the use of all these disposable mass is certain to cause,” Domenico Guzzini concludes.Protective Face Eco Mask, designed by Spalvieri&Del Ciotto, two designers who joined the prestigious Guzzini creative pool a couple of years ago, belongs to the On The Go collection, in its Protection section, a new item intended to offer customers equipment that will facilitate their daily lives. Made in Italy, Eco Mask is extremely light, weighing just 45 grammes, and thanks to its soft, anatomically shaped sealing edge, it adheres to the face and fits all facial forms snugly, with a level of comfort which allows it to be worn even for hours without itching, redness, marks on the skin, etc.With its special shape, this mask can also be worn with glasses, with minimal lens misting. The large internal chamber, the well-calculated filtration system size and the excellent fit ensured by the two configurations, behind the head or behind the ears, of the easily adjustable elastic straps, meaning the wearer can breathe effectively without the unpleasant feeling of suffocation caused by many other masks.But while comfort is of fundamental importance for equipment of this kind, its safety and reliability are what make Eco Mask a truly must-have item. The Eco Mask has received CE marking as a Type I Class I (non-sterile) medical device under the EN 14683 – ISO 10993 standards and Regulation (EU) no.745/2017. Fitted with an effective multi-layer fabric filter with a lifetime of 1 day and filtering capacity >=95%, the Guzzini mask ensures a high degree of isolation from the surrounding environment thanks to the perfect seal between the soft, non-allergenic rubber edge and the face.What’s more, the entire mask and straps are made from an innovative plastic able to reduce bacteria proliferation, minimising the contamination hazard. Manufactured in a properly sanitised production location, free from germs and contamination sources, with the highest quality standards, Eco Mask is made from carefully selected, tested materials: the sealing edge in contact with the face and the straps are made from a special bio-compatible, latex-free medical thermoplastic rubber. Eco Mask can be reused indefinitely thanks to the use of high quality, easily sterilised, durable plastics and the fact that the filter is easily removed and replaced. The entire mask can be easily sanitised in four different ways, all of which make it safe, easy and convenient to use. In fact, Eco Mask can be washed both by hand in hot water with ordinary detergent and in the dishwasher – pan cycle at 70°C.But that’s not all: it can also be sanitised in a microwave using steam sterilisation bags (3 min – 800/900 W) or cold using suitable liquid or effervescent tablet disinfectants, which can be purchased separately and used in accordance with the producer’s instructions.Eco Mask is safe, eco-sustainable and comfortable to wear but, like all Guzzini products, with their perfect blend of style and function, it is also attractively shaped, a personal design accessory, with a wide range of fashionable colours as well as an excellent fit, all in an elegant satiny finish. Two neutral variants – black and white – and four colours, bright blue, pink, green and yellow, with white filter cap: colourful for daytime, black or white for the evening! Moreover, every member of the family can choose their own favourite colour, so it does not get mixed up with others. The mask kit consists of Eco Mask and 4 filters available on Guzzini website and a part of the proceeds will be donated to support Legambiente: https://www.fratelliguzzini.com/eu/new-in.html “We have to choose what kind of Italy we want for ourselves, our children and our grandchildren,” Domenico Guzzini comments. “We have to recognise the importance of values such as knowledge, technology, creativity, sustainability, safety and health. Wellbeing concerns all of us, including the people we meet and work with. For a future of wellbeing and to keep taking care of the health of each one of us, we have to make intelligent choices about what we produce and what we use in our daily lives.” It is with these goals in mind that Guzzini has created a product offering called On The Go Protection: a series of products born to safeguard the health and the environment, or “Made for Nature, Made for Health”. A return to beauty, healthy and useful for Italy and for people, and pointing the way to a new future.
