Cocorose London Calls for Action to Prevent a ‘Blue Face Mask Planet’

-       company calls for action to make single-use plastic masks morally unacceptable

A London-based business is calling on British people to demonstrate their concern for the planet by rejecting single-use plastic surgical face coverings before our world becomes a ‘Blue Face Mask Planet’.

Janan Leo, owner of Cocorose London, a leading shoe and trainer brand which pivoted into reusable cotton and silk face masks to support children’s mental health during the pandemic, through donations to the Honeypot Children’s Charity, says lockdown is very cleverly masking the planet’s anguish.

Provoked by seeing too many people, including a number of Hollywood celebs, sporting single-use masks – often of the blue surgical variety - Janan questions whether people have any idea of what these are doing to our marine environments.

“Too many people are unable to get to our beaches, to see these masks strewn everywhere.  They cannot go on holiday to witness them being washed up on the shore.  They cannot feel the pain that comes from seeing seabirds with plastic ear hoops wrapped around their feet. We are literally living in a bubble, blissfully ignorant of what not opting for a reusable mask is doing to our world,” says Janan.

“Whilst charities like the RSPCA are urging us to snip the ear hoops, to prevent wildlife getting entangled in the masks, we have other issues, such as that of sea-life ingesting masks and the break-up of these masks into microplastics that enter the food chain.  It’s going to be an environmental disaster of gigantic proportions, allowing coronavirus to affect our planet for many years after researchers find an effective vaccine.”

As a mother to two-year-old Elin, Janan says she wants the Government to take action and encourage us all to opt for reusable masks, so that her child inherits a world that is not littered with plastic waste that experts say will take 450 years to be eliminated.[1]

Whilst the advice is to send blue plastic masks to landfill, via black bin collections, the masks cannot biodegrade there and are having to be incinerated, creating toxic waste.  It is said that Britain is sending 1.6 billion blue face masks to landfill every month and 51% of us are wearing this type of disposable, single-use mask.[2] The daily mask waste going to landfill is said to equate to 100 cars per day, constituting enough waste to cover the whole of London within two days.

Janan’s range of face masks, adopted by the likes of Pippa Middleton Matthews and Chrissy Teigen, allows masks to be washed and reused, time after time.  Whilst single-use plastic masks may seem a bargain bulk buy, experts say most people would typically wear at least two different masks per day and possibly more, for instance wearing a different mask for each stage of a journey to work and then a mask or two at work.   On that basis, a pack of 50, at £4, is going to last maybe 10-12 days.  A re-washable, reusable mask, made in quality cotton or silk, could last a year or even longer, even with frequent rewashing.  

A reusable mask would be for a one-off price of £11.99 for a Cocorose cotton face mask and you can find one that suits your wardrobe, your personality and your festive spirit too.  All masks come with a matching pouch, into which to put the mask whilst not being worn, to help keep it clean.  And therein lies another advantage.  If you have bought something that lasts, you do put it away, rather than leaving it on a park bench, in a gutter or on public transport, for others to deal with, or for the environment to have to absorb.

All profits from Cocorose London’s face masks are donated to the Honeypot Children’s Charity, which organises respite breaks for children who are full-time carers for their parents or other siblings.  So far, Cocorose London has raised almost £10,000 for the charity and the range is continually being extended.  It now includes cotton sculpted and pleated masks, mulberry silk masks that have strong droplet repelling qualities and which can help reduce face maskne, and children’s face masks that youngers love, whether they are into unicorns and rainbows, or colourful animals.

“Blue surgical masks are the new plastic bottle, yet so few people can see it,” says Janan.  “They are damaging a variety of economic sectors, including tourism, fishing and leisure, as well as wreaking havoc with our eco-systems and biodiversity.  

“We need to make it as morally unacceptable to wear one of these plastic masks as it became to use plastic bags for shopping,” she says. “Do we really want archaeologists organising digs in 450 years’ time, finding piles of blue plastic masks and reflecting that this portrays how Neanderthals lived in 2020?  It’s time to make a stand on this.  Our planet needs to survive the pandemic in more ways than one.  It’s time to boo ‘the blues’.”

[1] https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-disposable-face-masks-creating-new-plastic-pollution-crisis-experts-warn-12045350

[2] https://environmentjournal.online/articles/uk-sending-1-6-billion-face-masks-to-landfill-every-month/

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Editors notes

Cocorose London is a brand making exquisite flat ballet pumps, sandals, boots, loafers and trainers, all coming with exceptional levels of comfort due to the features built in to them, the leathers and textiles used and handcrafting at every stage. Some are also hybrid shoes, which fold, if required, so they can be carried in a zipped purse and worn when the foot need a little luxury.