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Disposable facemasks are uncovering a harsh reality for the future of our planet, but Victorians can choose a sustainable solution from CREAM Collection

Announcement posted by CRE8IVE 22 Sep 2020

With demands for disposable masks, gloves and other protective equipment increasing at exponential levels around the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the fight against plastic pollution has become a more significant battle than ever before.

CREAM Collection, manufacturers of sustainable aprons, chef jackets and workwear, is working to reduce the alarming number of disposable masks ending up in landfill, and ultimately our oceans, together with the rest of plastic waste that already threatens marine life; by encouraging consumers to wear reusable masks.
With Victorian businesses expected to re-open their doors on 26 October, Pam Burnett, founder of CREAM Collection is encouraging people to be prepared and purchase a cost-effective solution in the form of sustainable 100% organic cotton reusable facemasks.

Pam comments: “Throughout this pandemic wearing a mask has become so important, and now a mandatory requirement in Victoria, but after already seeing the negative impact on the environment of disposable masks, choosing what to cover your face with has become a much greater issue.”

Since the significant effects of COVID-19 unravelled in March, and with Victoria’s second lockdown still in force, CREAM Collection has been designing and making sustainable facemasks to enable the wider community to safely interact outside of their home when able to, and has already sold thousands to environmentally conscious Aussies, including many Victorians.

CREAM Collection’s facemasks are ethically made from 100% organic cotton and purposefully designed to biodegrade beyond its use. The masks feature adjustable elastic head straps for a comfortable fit, and a removable aluminium strip allowing the mask to sit snugly across the nose and can also be recycled afterwards.

Pam adds: “When we throw something ‘away’, we don’t always think about where it goes and what impact it has on our environment. It is our role to think about what we can do to reduce the waste we dispose of every day, which at the moment includes an increasing number of single-use facemasks – and mask wearing is something that will continue for the foreseeable future.”

Dedicated to providing sustainable aprons and jackets to some of Melbourne’s most well-known chefs, including Adam D'Sylva, Matt Stone and Andrew McConnell, as well as restaurants Lume Dining, Attica, Lucy Liu, Liminal and Polperro, CREAM Collection has always been committed to ensuring practical, long-lasting solutions exist in an industry that currently relies on so many pollutive materials.

With 8 million tonnes of plastics entering the ocean every year, it is estimated around 75 per cent of single-use masks, as well as other pandemic-related waste, will end up in landfills, or floating in the seas spanning a life of 450 years.

CREAM Collection’s facemasks can be washed (at a temperature of 60 degrees or using a hot steam iron) and sanitised and re-used to provide an easy solution for people who want to protect themselves and each other during these uncertain times.

CREAM’s facemasks are available to order at $19.95 each, with the option to personalise and embroider with a name or initials.

For more information or to purchase CREAM Collection face masks, please visit https://www.creamcollection.com.au/collections/face-masks.

For more information, please contact: Emma Kirkaldy @ CRE8IVE on T: 0406 025 771 or emma.kirkaldy@c8.com.au