Print Email Facebook Twitter Community Masks – from an Emergency Solution to an Innovation Booster for the Textile Industry Title Community Masks – from an Emergency Solution to an Innovation Booster for the Textile Industry Author Batt, Till (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa)) Herwig, Gordon (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa)) Annaheim, Simon (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa)) Clement, Pietro (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa)) Furer, Lea (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa)) Hirsch, Cordula (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa)) Varanges, Vincent (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) Caglar, Baris (TU Delft Aerospace Manufacturing Technologies; Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) Michaud, Véronique (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) Date 2022 Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in shortages of personal protective equipment and medical devices in the initial phase. Agile small and medium-sized enterprises from regional textile industries reacted quickly. They delivered alternative products such as textile-based community masks in collaboration with industrial partners and research institutes from various sectors. The current mask materials and designs were further improved by integrating textiles with antiviral and antimicrobial properties and enhanced protection and comfort by novel textile/membrane combinations, key factors to increase the acceptance and compliance of mask wearing. The safety and sustainability of masks, as well as taking into account particular needs of vulnerable persons in our society, are new fields for textile-based innovations. These innovations developed for the next generation of facemasks have a high adaptability to other product segments, which make textiles an attractive material for hygienic applications and beyond. Subject Air permeabilityAntiviral facemaskCOVID-19 pandemicFiltration efficiencyWearing comfort To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:2b853d6d-d932-49c1-b146-5414e11dfbe7 DOI https://doi.org/10.2533/chimia.2022.249 ISSN 0009-4293 Source Chimia, 76 (3), 249-254 Part of collection Institutional Repository Document type journal article Rights © 2022 Till Batt, Gordon Herwig, Simon Annaheim, Pietro Clement, Lea Furer, Cordula Hirsch, Vincent Varanges, Baris Caglar, Véronique Michaud, More Authors Files PDF document.pdf 323.7 KB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:2b853d6d-d932-49c1-b146-5414e11dfbe7/datastream/OBJ/view