Before the coronavirus outbreak abruptly disrupted the livelihoods of millions of people, the sight of masks worn in public spaces in the Western world conjured up images of malevolent clowns and terrifying fictional villains.
At the start of the pandemic, the lack of masks led many people to resort to home-made solutions.
A few hundreds metres down the road, people running errands at a big-chain supermarket mostly wear the surgical, disposable version of the mask — the one available for less than one euro in pharmacies — with no aesthetic airs at all.
It's the daily sight of cheap, disposable gloves and masks thrown away in the streets of her neighbourhood that convinced her to start producing her own during the health crisis.
Cochoy thinks the dichotomy between the handcrafted and surgical masks offers a preview of the trend that will shape life after COVID-19 – supporters of sustainable development facing off against “growth at all costs” strategies.
