Global crises like pandemics are devastating, but they also spur unity and innovation. Various industries are coming together to fight against the deadly virus COVID-19. Fashion design students are doing their fair share by using their talents to design and sew face masks.
The World Health Organisation maintains that only those who are sick (coughing and sneezing) or taking care of a sick person should wear them, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised using “cloth face coverings” even if you are not sick.
Since DIY cloth masks can do the job, Ila Tempus, one of the former fashion design students of LISAA School of Design in Bengaluru have taken initiative to make masks for the public. Illa has been crafting hundreds of face masks .
She provides free masks to local workers who can’t afford it, for every three masks that are bought by people who can afford it.
Ila Tempus said, “We wanted to help people in any way possible. We partnered with our tailoring head and decided on creating 100% cotton 2-ply reusable tailored masks which were recommended by various health departments around the world.”
We made sure to keep a sterile environment and have a series of procedures in place to avoid the virus and create the products safely. Medical shops were running out of masks, and we knew we had to develop the next best thing, Illa said.
“There was less than 28% waste generated while the masks were being made, this 28% will be further recycled into new fabrics after the lockdown ends,” she further added.
