Marie Bee Bloom masks are 100% biodegradable
According to the study Face masks and the environment: Preventing the next plastic problem , of the Syddansk Universitet (University of Southern Denmark), it is estimated that in the world they are used 129 billion masks per month.
Therefore, every minute, 3 million masks are thrown in the trash (that is, if they do not end up on the ground). Most of them are disposable masks made of plastic microfibers that end up in the environment and take up to 450 years to biodegrade, breaking down into microplastics and nanoplastics ingested by fish, other marine life, and ultimately by humans.
the graphic designer Marianne de Groot Pons , after weeks of stumbling over disposable face masks littering the streets of Utrecht, she decided to create Marie Bee Bloom, a firm of 100% biodegradable masks filled with flower seeds!
Use, plant, water... and sprout!
Bloom the World!
NEITHER 90 NOR 99.99: MASKS ARE 100% BIODEGRADABLE
“I keep seeing the same number everywhere: 129 billion disposable masks are used worldwide every month. If even 1% of those 129 billion plastic masks end up in nature, it is already a disaster”, comments Marianne de Groot-Pons.
The masks are completely biodegradable and they are made from rice paper filled with flower seeds and are produced in a small Dutch workshop.
The cords are made of pure sheep's wool (carded, spun, braided and washed by the sheep themselves). “Due to the high demand, we now also use wool from other Dutch sheep. This wool is machine-spun in Sweden, as the Netherlands no longer has a spinning mill,” explains Marianne.
Put on the mask!
The little flowers with which to tie the laces are made with vegetal cardboard egg boxes. And how do the laces stay attached to the mask? "Simply, with glue based on potato starch and water."
It took a lot of research to gather the right materials, but in the end they got it: even the ink on the stamped logo is biodegradable. “There is nothing, absolutely nothing, harmful in this mask. It even makes the earth and the bees happy!” they exclaim from the firm.
The masks are made in a small workshop in the Netherlands
BLOOM!
After planting them in the garden or in a pot and watering them, the seeds – which are placed with a homemade adhesive of potato starch and water sandwiched between two sheets of rice paper – they begin to germinate in about three days.
Said rice paper houses seeds of different species such as aster, cornflower, coreopsis, gilia, gypsophila, dill, daisies and petunias.
“In all the years that I have been working as a graphic designer, I have also polluted and used natural resources while making my designs (especially paper), so I want to do something for the earth” says the founder of Marie Bee Bloom.
Flower Power
It is about the world flourishing, so Marie de Groot-Pons's intention is for the mask to be planted. However, whether in the garden or in the landfill, the mask biodegrades.
Due to the seeds they use, Marie Bee Bloom masks can only be distributed within Europe for now, but the designer hopes expand the brand internationally by studying the ecosystems of other countries and adapting the product to each reality, using native seeds, for example.
Every minute, 3 million masks are thrown in the trash (if they don't end up on the ground)
MODE OF USE
Single-use disposable masks are not recycled And, as we have already told you in this article, being a source of infection and spread of the virus, they are not recyclable and must be disposed of in the appropriate container.
Single-use masks must be deposited in the general or rejection container, which is where we throw all the waste that is not recycled.
Use, plant and water
The alternative proposed by Marie de Groot-Pons, in addition to helping to preserve the environment, It will turn a small corner of your garden, terrace or window into a colorful mini-garden.
Regarding the handling of Marie Bee Bloom masks, from the firm they point out that they must be treated with care: "Separate the upper and lower part, unfolding the mask and put it on keeping in mind that the logo is on the upper part of your right cheek."
“Adjust the laces until they are the correct size and flatten the edges so that the mask ends up fitting perfectly” Done! Once you have used it, plant it and make the planet and the bees happy!
“This mask is just as good (or as bad) a protector as homemade cloth masks. The masks have not been tested ”, they affirm from Marie Bee Bloom.
You can buy them in the online store of Marie Bee Bloom, which sells them in packages of 5, 10 and 15 masks at 15, 30 and 45 euros respectively.
Aster, cornflower, coreopsis, gilia, gypsophila, dill...