New Zealand's largest clothing maker Cactus Outdoor has converted its entire factory capacity to making face masks.

The company bought Albion Clothing last year, which makes specialist clothing, including uniforms for emergency services like the Police, as well as the New Zealand military.

Among the products made from its Christchurch factory were face masks, which it sells to rest homes as well as direct to the public from its Cactus Outdoor website.

SUPPLIED Cactus Outdoor boss Ben Kepes says the company is converting its entire factory capacity to making protective face masks.

"We've now converted our entire factory to face mask production and are actually standing up a new factory next week in order to ramp up production of our N95-protection level face masks due to unprecedented demand," said Ben Kepes, director of Cactus Outdoor.

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Though many older Cactus apparel-making staff were self-isolating, many others were continuing to work at the company, which were considered to be delivering an essential service, Kepes said.

"About six months ago we started developing our face masks," he said.

The aim at the time was to sell the masks, which are made form New Zealand-sourced components, to people doing DIY, or working in trades like painting and carpentry.

The shift in production to 100 per cent face masks was designed to meet an obvious shortage for masks, Kepes said.

SUPPLIED Cactus Outdoor machinist at work.

​Despite the lockdown masks could be couriered to buyers, he said.

Many of the company's skilled apparel-makers were older New Zealanders, many of who had underlying health conditions, and were now self-isolating at home.

But Kepes said the company had a large contingent of younger migrant workers who learned their skills overseas before moving to New Zealand. Their efforts would allow the company's second Christchurch factory to begin production on masks in the coming days.

SUPPLIED Cactus Outdoor clothing shop, Christchurch.

"We have about 120 employees, and we have about 35 nationalities, and every language under the sun," Kepes said.

The reusable, cleanable masks utilise filters made of wool, and, the company was marketing them as protection against breathing in bacteria and viruses.

But Cactus Outdoor's website gives three product use caveats: "This face mask is a consumer product. It is not a respirator. It is not a medical device. This face mask is not PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) certified. The filter is tested in-house to P2/N95 level, but the face mask as a whole has not been tested."

The Ministry of Health says the use of personal protective equipment, such as face masks can reduce the spread of infection when used correctly and in the appropriate context.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says healthy people only need to wear a mask if they are taking care of a person with, or suspected of having, Covid-19.

Masks were effective only when used in combination with frequent hand-cleaning with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water, the WHO said.

And, it said, people using masks must know how to use them and dispose of them properly.

Kepes said New Zealand had not seen the apparel industry as being of strategic importance for the country, and he hoped the coronavirus outbreak would lead the country to re-evaluate its dependence on overseas manufacturers.

He said he was not advocating a return to Muldoonism, but to a more resilient local manufacturing economy.