Ilkeston textile manufacturer has designed a sustainable washable face mask developed from recycled plastic bottles in an attempt to reduce the environmental impact.

Baltex, established in 1831 has created the high-performance mask, as many reports released stated that disposable masks have led to a spike in the plastic pollution during the pandemic.

The UK has reported to disposing over 53.3m facemasks to landfill every day. while globally 129bn face masks are being used every month. The company is popular for designing, manufacturing and supplying a variety of technical textile to markets that include aerospace, military, medical and the automotive industry. Earlier this year, Baltex had launched its Airox Face Mask, with an anti-viral finish. Now, the company has developed a 3D fabric with yarn made from crushed plastic drink bottles, creating sustainable masks. The masks are said to be highly breathable and water repellent.

The mask offers a unique combination of comfort and strength making it ideal for utilisation in manual labour or sporting activities. The Airox Sport is already in use across several companies in East Midlands. The fabric so far has been approved for breathability, liquid repellence and buyer comfort. The coating of the fabric has been credited by ViralOff technology.

Charles Wood, the Managing director of Baltex, stated that they had been huge improvements in the quality of yarns made from recycled products and the fabric they have developed proved to be soft and extremely comfortable. He added that though it was perfect to wear to the supermarket with respect to breathability it was ideal for exercising or in areas where labour was manual. He stated that they hope that their environmentally-friendly masks would prevent both plastics and used masks ending up in landfill, or worse, abandoned in our streets, rivers or even the ocean. 

Baltex was founded by William Ball and his brothers Francis and Thomas in 1831. They had started the business as a silk and lace manufacturer before they decided to adopt specialist fabrics after facing fierce competition from cheap imports.