Scuba Diving Group Makes Masks from Recycled Ocean Plastic

With face masks being in such high demand, for their necessity in the novel coronavirus outbreaks, one company has taken a more eco-friendly approach to supplying the protective masks to the public. The Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) has partnered with sustainable sportswear company Rash’r to make face masks out of plastic debris and trash that has been salvaged from the ocean. Each mask is sold with five replacement filters at the cost of $20.40—which is just enough to cover the costs of manufacturing itself.

“We are not profiting from this product. We’re very much a heart-and-soul organization. We care about the ocean and our diver community, so we wanted to be able to put our hands on our hearts and say that we’re not profiting off this difficult time.” Lisa Nicklin

Since the CDC, and of course, agencies from many other countries in the world, now recommend that people wear at least cloth face masks to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 disease in public places, PADI’s masks offer a sustainable alternative to the limited supplies of masks. This goes especially for the N95 respirator masks, as they are being reserved for healthcare workers, standing on the front lines of the pandemic.

In addition to the masks featuring a number of ocean-themed designs, PADI has even developed a children’s mask, appropriate for kids aged 4 to 10. All the masks are machine-washable and produced with dual-polyester layers to support the replaceable filters. They are supposed to last you weeks, if not months, if they are properly washed periodically and filters are exchanged.

Since the company has been inundated with more than 15,000 mask pre-orders in a matter of weeks—which has helped recycle more than 1,300 pounds of ocean pollution, they are now ramping up their manufacturing to accommodate additional orders.