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Mask manufacturers embrace recycling to stay afloat
Since the COVID-19 pandemic receded, demand for face masks has plummeted. At the same time, cut-price Chinese masks have flooded the market. Mask manufacturers in Taiwan are looking for ways to stay afloat in the competitive industry. Many are turning to recycling, either reusing old masks in new ways, or highlighting how their masks are more “green” than competitors.
A production line whirrs with activity as mask after mask rolls by. Mask demand has plummeted since the pandemic ended, and the members of the “National Mask Squad” are transitioning to new ways of working.
Chen Yung-chih
Face mask manufacturer
The cleaning bag you see here uses material recycled from the nose bridges of our masks, remade into refuse bags. They’re very strong and difficult to perforate.
Refuse bags, clothes hangers, and other items are all made of recycled masks. When COVID-19 exploded in 2020, the government invited manufacturers to form a “National Mask Squad” to stabilize the production of public health equipment. At their height, they were producing 20 million face masks a day. But these disposable masks can also become environmental pollution.
Chen Yung-chih
Face mask manufacturer
We have always needed to deal with masks using landfill or incineration. That means that masks might defame, or pollute the air or the ocean in the future. So, how can we make masks sustainable, eco-friendly, circular and reusable?
With these green goals, Taiwanese mask manufacturers are working with the Taiwan Nonwoven Fabrics Industry Association. They’re recycling masks, and launching a new recycling logo. They want to protect the Earth while also making inroads into overseas markets, including Europe and America.
Chen Yung-chih
Face mask manufacturer
During the pandemic, Taiwan had a mask shortage. So all the Taiwanese manufacturers’ masks were requisitioned. That meant foreign clients couldn’t buy our masks. They also had some assessments and considerations to bear in mind concerning risk, so many of those contracts went to other countries or to China. That led us to lose an awful lot of contracts.
Huang Chih-ping
Taiwan Nonwoven Fabrics Industry Association
Our masks still cost between NT$3.5 and NT$5, but the ones imported from China are 0.8 yuan, or even less. Facing this competition from China’s cut-price masks, we want to call on the public to contribute to the environment as they protect their own health. Get a mask that’s all one material, that we can recycle, that we can turn into another product.
Before the pandemic, Taiwan boasted about 30 mask manufacturers. At the height of COVID-19, there were more than 400. Now, there are fewer than 100. They face a decline in demand and cheap competition from China, as well as undercutting rivals within Taiwan. But these manufacturers are working to reinvent themselves. They’re not throwing in the towel yet.
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2024-04-02
