Our story
How it all started
At the beginning of mask republic, the two companies behind mask republic seemed to have very little in common: paper republic, a young online stationery brand, and plastics raw material producer Borealis.
These extraordinary times have brought us together. Jérôme, Founder of paper republic got in contact with Henk, Development Engineer at Borealis, and together they decided to try to develop a new kind of washable mask, using Borealis state-of-the-art meltblown technology and paper republic design expertise.
Within a very short time span, Borealis has developed special meltblown fabrics on their pilot line in Linz which are suitable for personal protective equipment, primarily for mouth-nose masks, but also high-end masks for medical professionals. Provided free of charge to mask republic by the Borealis Social Fund, the company supports the non profit model. paper republic designed the masks and organized the mask manufacturing together with professional sewers.
The result is a world-premiere: a reusable, washable fabric face-mask with an integrated filter that aims to provide four times more filtration than self-made regular fabric face-masks, as tested in our laborator.
The network
We've started to create a network of professional and independent sewers in Austria, who we help by generating well-needed extra income, by providing them the pre-prepared mask kits (pre-cut cotton fabrics, filters and ribbons). Each sewer receives detailed instructions and send us the finalized masks, which we control for quality, wash at 60 degree and ship directly to your door.
The team
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Jerome |
Steffi paper republic |
Maria paper republic |
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Henk, Borealis |
Florian, Borealis | Dorothea, Borealis |
Partners:
paper republic
Borealis
Borealis is a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers. With its head office in Vienna, Austria, the company currently has more than 6,900 employees and operates in over 120 countries. With over 50 years’ experience in the industry, Borealis is an innovative and reliable supplier of superior polyolefin plastic materials used in consumer products, advanced packaging and fibre.
“Within a very short time span, we have developed meltblown fabrics on our pilot line in Linz which are suitable for personal protective equipment – primarily mouth-nose masks, but also high-end masks for medical professionals,” highlights Anton Wolfsberger, Strategic Polyolefin Business Projects Director. “We started production in order to supply filtration fabrics to our network partners and we are happy to work closely together with the mask republic to support regional face masks production.”
Borealis believes that businesses can only grow sustainably in a healthy environment and a stable society. Our prosperity is closely aligned with a sustainable environment and the health and safety of the communities in which we operate. Supporting communities is therefore a core element of Borealis' sustainability strategy and our commitment to Responsible Care® and we have established the Borealis Social Fund, to put this commitment into action.