Le Thanh, the founder of ShoeX, said in January 2020, when people began hearing the news about the spread of the epidemic originating from Wuhan, China, he set to work on the project on making face masks in anticipation of the huge demand for products in the future.

However, instead of making cloth face masks like other enterprises, Thanh and ShoeX decided to create a type of mask which is antibacterial, fashionable and friendly to the environment.

Thanks to the ‘sensitivity’ to the market demand and adaptive thinking, ShoeX’s new product – AirX, the face mask made of coffee – has been welcomed by consumers. With the product, the company hasn't seen its revenue decreasing in the epidemic and it hasn't laid off workers. 

ShoeX spent four months researching and developing the world's first face protective mask made from coffee grounds. The biodegradable filter membrane is replaceable.

 With these face masks, the decline in sales of coffee-made shoes, however, has been offset.

“Owning the formula for making coffee shoes, it is quite possible for ShoeX to make coffee masks,” Thanh said.

“AirX is a product quite different from ShoeXcoffee, but both of them bear the ‘DNA’ of ShoeX,” Thanh said.

AirX has two parts. The cover is made by ShoeX in cooperation with partners working for coffee shoes. The other, the biodegradable, environmentally friendly and replaceable filter, is created by technology developed specifically by Thanh and other co-workers.

AirX mask uses the dual 99.99 percent antibacterial technology with two protective layers. The outer layer is made of soft coffee fibers, using PowerKnit technology, and is washable.

The inside layer is a biodegradable filter membrane, using technology that combines nanosilfer and coffee. Each filter can be used for up to 30 days without washing. The product is certified by QUATEST 3 (Quality Assurance and Testing Center 3) as meeting AATCCC 100 standard.

On January 30, 2020, the first two patients with coronavirus in Vietnam were diagnosed. As of 6 pm of April 14, 2020, there had been 266 confirmed cases, with 169 recoveries and 0 death.

Mai Lan 

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