With the COVID-19 vaccine still a half a year away (at the earliest) and more health authorities reporting the benefit of wearing masks in public places, the trend of face masks is here to stay. The fashion giants have already jumped on this bandwagon and started producing luxurious masks targeting the fashion conscious customer. International giants like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Dior, Good American have already introduced a line of chic masks that will go with any outfit. Other fashion giants are offering top of the line masks made from silk and French lace (Maison Modulare). Indian labels like Anita Dongre, Masaba, and Ritu Kumar aren’t far behind.
The CDC’s official recommendation is that masks “potentially help prevent transmission when used as a complement to social distancing.” – Centre for Disease Control, USA
While we don’t mean to trivialise the pandemic, one important point to highlight here is that these masks take up premium real-estate space over your face. The masks, particularly cotton ones, have quickly become a way to express personal style, and sometimes even company branding and messaging.
So, the question to address here is of this, “Should companies personalise their masks for their employees?”
Continue reading this blog to find out a few reasons personalised masks are the way to go.
- Aesthetic Looks There is no denying that the plain masks available at the local pharmacy are just boring, but hey, they are effective. One reason for customising COVID-19 cloth masks for your organisation is to present a uniformed and aesthetic look for the employees. Employees will be more likely to wear your masks out and about when they are well designed. This also results in free promotion and branding for you as an organisation – making it the perfect win-win scenario.
- Promote Company Culture In such times of practicing social distancing, a sense of company uniformity and community culture is just what your employees need. Masks with company logos remind your employees they are part of a larger team, working in cohesion during these tough times. An additional benefit is that these masks a magnificent way to generate organisation’s visibility and values. It’s also a marvellous way to attract top talent, as the rockstar employees certainly want to work for companies that care about their employees and are environmentally aware.
- Cost Effective While branding of face masks might seem like an expense that you would want to shy away from, these customised cloth masks aren’t that expensive. In fact, the cost per use of the mask is equivalent to that of a disposable mask. The starting range for these personalised cloth masks is between Rs. 100 to Rs. 150. One can find a pack of designer masks Amazon.in for approximately Rs. 299. Fab India is selling pleated masks in a set of four for around Rs 170, and their printed masks are being sold for Rs 150 each.
- Reusable & Eco-Friendly The top reason to invest in these personalised cloth masks is that they are better for the environment. Ease to reuse and clean, these cloth masks are just what Mother Nature requires. The population, in general, is more environmentally conscious and the cloth masks are easy to wash and maintain. In the long-term, the cost of investing in these masks pays off. Why keep buying and disposing and when you can buy and re-use?
Masks Break the Chain
Face masks, when combined with other preventative measures of social distancing and practicing optimum personal hygiene, have proved to control the spread of COVID-19. South Asian countries like Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, and South Korea, where wearing masks is an accepted practice, and the government mandated the use of them immediately, showed superior containment of the Coronavirus.
Indian health authorities and Centre Government directives have also made masks mandatory in ALL public spaces. Wearing masks will be the new normal.
So, instead of relegating your employees and staff to the same mundane mask, why not provide them with something that is unique?
PICATYPE Printing can help design and produce embroidered cloth masks for your organisation. These masks would fit right into your company’s welcome back kit for employees.