Some companies, like American Giant, Laws of Motion, and Under Armour, are trying to meet the immediate need by making large quantities of surgical masks as fast as possible. But others are rethinking the very basics of mask design and experimenting with different materials and manufacturing techniques as they develop solutions.

And it’s about time. Even before the coronavirus crisis, doctors criticized surgical masks for their fit. Dan Formosa, who has spent his career designing medical equipment, says hospitals tend to select masks based on cost rather than on how well they fit and perform. As a result, many masks don’t fit snugly on the face, which is both uncomfortable and potentially dangerous, since it means that virus-laden droplets can pass in and out of the mask.

In recent weeks, fashion labels have seen a significant drop in sales, as millions of people have been laid off and consumer spending has plummeted. Some brands have turned to mask-making as a way to keep their teams engaged and busy. They’re rapidly prototyping new designs that solve some of the known problems with masks and retooling their machinery to make them. All the companies I spoke with for this story are donating their masks to healthcare workers, but they’re asking customers to support their cause by either donating money directly or buying products that will allow them to fund the mask-making. And in many cases, their customers are rising to the occasion. “We’re donating a respirator mask for every pair of shoes sold, and our sales have been up,” says Casey Kerrigan, cofounder of OESH shoes. “I’m thinking many people feel helpless and are just looking for a way to help.”

Ministry of Supply

Gihan Amarasiriwardena, cofounder and president of Ministry of Supply, has spent the last two weeks thinking about the fundamentals of mask design. He says that, at the most basic level, masks have two features that prevent particles from spreading: fit and filtration. His team is attempting to improve on both. The company, which is based in Boston, is partnering with doctors, design experts at MIT, and MakerHealth, a network that advocates for prototyping of medical devices.

The resulting mask design decoupled the mask from the filtration, which allowed the company to choose a material that prioritized fit over filtration. Unique for a fashion company, Ministry of Supply is also creating its own filters, which will slide into a pocket in the mask. The company uses a non-woven material to make its clothing, which can filter out particles when compressed. “Non-woven fabric fuses together several layers of material, much like paper fuses together layers of cellulose fibers,” says Amarasiriwardena. “We can work with our partners to create a filter that rises to HEPA standard.”

For the masks, the company is using viscose, which is highly breathable, soft, and moisture wicking. To 3D-print them, it’s using a Shima Seiki machine, which is typically used for knitting materials like wool into sweaters. The 3D-knitting process allows them to create a mask that better accounts for the face’s complex topography, and since the resulting fabric is stretchy, it can adapt to the wearer’s mouth and nose.