In collaboration with San Francisco-based O2TODAY™, Marcel Wanders is launching a first-of-its-kind urban air pollution filtration mask. Blending modern, ergonomic design with advanced filtration technology, the comfortable and stylish mask filters out harmful pollutants to protect urban residents from the dangers of hazardous air. With Merino wool facings sourced from the pristine Southern Alps of New Zealand this mask is an extremely breathable product that does not sacrifice effectiveness.
“O2TODAY™ sits closely alongside my design philosophy and ignites many key values that I treasure. When designing, I look to bridge past traditions such as craftsmanship, and synthesize these with current innovations. Consequently, I feel extremely honoured to be part of this insightful initiative, with a multitude of learning outcomes waiting to be discovered. This anti-pollution mask is a simple yet important innovation that will help thousands of people around the world,”
states Marcel.
Armed with extensive research, O2TODAY™ and Marcel Wanders have developed a product that addresses a clear need for a significant portion of the world’s residents. Unlike other masks on the market today, this one incorporates Texus Fibre™ filters tested to comply with internationally accepted AS/NZS1716 standards to filter out over 95% of dangerous airborne particulates, and is designed using sustainable materials sourced in New Zealand.
“When designing, we must look into the future and visualise the ecological impact that a design or object will have on an individual, or indeed a wider social network. Therefore, we created a mask made out of a material that doesn’t add to the problem it is trying to solve, the pollution problem. On top of that, it is a beautiful object that people can feel comfortable with and connect to,”
added Marcel.
O2TODAY New Zealand series masks come in six different patterns and two sizes and will initially be available for $34USD through select duty free stores and retailers in New Zealand, Australia, and Korea with expansion into China and South East Asia e-commerce channels within 2017.
