Company keeps public safe by making face masks, manufacturing them in the UK

Businesses looking to reopen their doors to employees and customers can keep them stay safe – and on-brand – thanks to a Bristol-based textiles company.

New guidelines issued by the government suggest people should wear face coverings in enclosed spaces where social distancing is not possible, such as at workplaces, at shops, and on public transport.

Branded garments specialist Badge Design has launched a range of coronavirus-busting face masks, which are manufactured and printed in the city, and the company has the capacity to make 5,000 masks a week.

Customers can order face masks decorated to their own specification and the washable polyester masks are stitched with a pocket into which particle filters can be inserted.

The PM2.5 filters, also supplied by Badge Design, block particles as small as 2.5 microns in diameter – a quarter of the size of the dust or pollen particles caught by DIY or allergy masks – and offer two-way protection, keeping the wearer and those they come into contact with safer.

And because the company is UK based it can fulfil orders within a matter of days while competitors who source their garments from China are struggling to get supplies to customers before mid-June.

Managing director Grev Leigh spent a month working on prototypes that were effective against coronavirus, comfortable to wear for long periods, practical in design and affordable  and act as a two way wall against giving or receiving the virus.”

"We are the only company supplying a fit-for-purpose, and high-quality re-usable face mask with bespoke branding at such low quantities, which can be worn comfortably for long periods," said Grev.

"As workplaces begin to reopen, face masks can keep people safe at work and on their way to and from work, if they are using public transport.

"Branded masks are a great way to demonstrate to your customers that you care about their safety, and the safety of your employees," he said.

Badge Design, which has been trading for more than 10 years, is one of the only UK-based companies with manufacturing and printing facilities under one roof.

Manufacturing the masks at its St George, Bristol premises it then uses a technique called sublimation printing to apply inks onto the fabric using a heat press. Unlike transfers and screen print, the finished result is breathable, non-toxic, and permanent.

It has also produced a Thank You NHS mask, and has pledged to donate 50 percent of the profits proceeds to NHS charities.