Breathe Healthy Masks Were Made in America Long Before the Pandemic

Veteran-owned and American-made, the corporate goals for its masks to stability effectiveness and luxury.

These previous two years, masks carrying has gone from a rarity outdoors of working rooms to widespread as we labored to cease the unfold of COVID-19. However masks carrying was already widespread for Michael Vahey, the proprietor of Virginia-based Breathe Wholesome, an organization that has been making reusable fabric masks within the USA for the previous 15 years.

Vahey was an engineer serving within the Military who had lengthy suffered from allergy symptoms. Throughout his service, the dusty terrains typically exacerbated his allergy symptoms, typically getting as dangerous as swelling his eyes shut.

Vahey used no matter he might discover to guard his face from publicity. However when Vahey returned from service, he found Breathe Wholesome, which made fabric masks for folks going by chemotherapy or affected by situations like COPD.

“I appreciated it a lot, I purchased the corporate,” Vahey mentioned.

What distinguishes Breathe Wholesome from different masks is that they’re designed to have a cushty match that stays safe on a broader array of faces. Breathe Wholesome masks are designed to remain sealed, with adjustable nostril items and ear loops, and make use of an antimicrobial known as Aegis that stops viral and microbial progress. Breathe Wholesome masks are reusable and don’t degrade or turn out to be much less efficient over time, and whereas they’re not on the identical stage of filtration as an N95 masks, their lab-tested filtration maximizes consolation to make sure that they’re breathable within the warmth.

As Vahey defined, “we expect we have now discovered the appropriate stability of filtration versus consolation.”

Importantly, Breathe Wholesome masks are additionally among the highest-quality in the marketplace as a result of they’re Made in America.

“Our masks are distinctive due to their development and the truth that they’re Made within the USA,” Vahey informed me. “I’ve all the time been a believer within the U.S. workforce, and I do know we are able to compete with some other nation on the planet so far as high quality is anxious.”

Vahey mentioned how regardless of larger labor prices, making Breathe Wholesome masks within the US introduced quite a few extra advantages.

“Lead occasions are shorter as a result of we don’t have to attend for ships or airways to ship our merchandise,” he mentioned. “Communication is less complicated as a result of there are not any language obstacles or time zone obstacles. High quality may be managed a lot simpler as properly after we are capable of examine our manufacturing inside just a few hours drive. There’s a higher stage of belief that happens after we can frequently meet face-to-face with our suppliers.”

Breathe Wholesome’s choice to fabricate within the U.S. was a notable distinction to different companies — particularly when the USA was rocked by a scarcity of PPE early on within the pandemic as worldwide provide chains tightened. And we’re nonetheless coping with points the place worldwide suppliers of PPE have been discovered to make use of pressured labor.

Through the pandemic, Breathe Wholesome noticed their total stock get snapped up once they have been one of many few suppliers of American-made PPE. However by the point that they may ramp manufacturing again up, demand had shifted to these issue-laden international merchandise.

“People have discovered that after we depend on importing from different international locations, we put ourselves in danger,” Vahey mentioned. “I might like to see extra manufacturing come again to our shores due to this, and because of this Breathe Wholesome masks will all the time be Made in America.”

Vahey added: “Our hope is that different firms and customers will select America first for manufacturing, growing the demand of U.S.-made merchandise. There’ll all the time be those that solely purchase the most affordable issues they will discover, no matter origin, however I believe there was a submit pandemic shift within the mindset of some.”

Though the Delta variant could delay the pandemic longer than many people hoped – and result in additional masks carrying within the near-term — the effectiveness of the vaccines means we’re possible heading towards a post-pandemic world. For Breathe Wholesome, that can imply returning to their core prospects of COPD sufferers, chemo warriors, and people battling allergy symptoms.

In spite of everything, Breathe Wholesome has been in enterprise since 2006 making breathable, efficient fabric masks. Regardless of the current politicization of masks, they do serve an actual, essential function for a lot of outdoors the realm of COVID-19.

Vahey appeared optimistic in regards to the future outlook for Breathe Wholesome.

“I consider that going ahead, a higher p.c of the U.S. inhabitants will not be averse to masks carrying,” Vahey mentioned. “Very like in lots of components of Asia, we are going to not take into account masks carrying as taboo, and I believe we are going to see extra of the U.S. inhabitants carrying masks for a number of makes use of.”

And with Breathe Wholesome going sturdy, folks can achieve this by supporting a veteran-owned, Made in America firm.

See the total catalog of Breathe Wholesome merchandise right here. Watch a video in regards to the firm right here.