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Want To Create A Better Mask? It's Harder Than It Seams

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Face masks have become such a big part of society. They're needed for all aspects of everyday life. NPR's Elizabeth Blair spent some time with two brothers who run a product design company and have been working to develop a cutting-edge mask - something durable, comfortable and technologically advanced - and that is an ambitious undertaking.

ELIZABETH BLAIR, BYLINE: Nick and Billy Smith have design in their DNA. Their parents are architects. Their grandfather was an engineer. Growing up in Mill Valley, Calif., they turned their parents' garage into an industrial arts paradise where they tinkered with all kinds of material, like fabric, fiberglass and wood.

NICK SMITH: For my, like, probably sixth birthday or whatever how old I was, I think I got a big set of power tools - you know, somewhat safe power tools - just to promote the woodworking. So I think at a very young age, it became clear that my parents were never going to be able to park their cars in that garage.

(LAUGHTER)

BILLY SMITH: Yeah.

BLAIR: They were also into surfing and skateboarding. They first became interested in the materials we put on our skin when they both contracted MRSA, a type of staph infection.

N SMITH: Billy contracted it first, and it was in a wetsuit that I thought was mine. And I put it on. And, sure enough, we both ended up with a really awful case of staph infection.

B SMITH: I was in the hospital for about 2 1/2 weeks, and I lost nearly 20 pounds. I have a big scar now which they had to cut out the infection from.

BLAIR: Two years later, older brother Billy Smith was designing wetsuits for Patagonia. He says he can't claim those wetsuits prevented staph infections, but the process got him thinking a lot about how design and materials can help solve bigger problems than just the need to cover up. Smith went on to design for Apple, where he's the co-inventor of five patents, including one for a seamless leather iPhone case. In 2015, he started his own design and product development company called Bilio. Brother Nick handles business development and innovation for the company. Their clients include Allbirds and Steelcase.

When the pandemic hit, they got to work with a team of 12 designers creating a face mask for the first time.

B SMITH: We've never done a mask before, but we've done several different virtual reality headsets. We've done sleep masks. We've done a lot of technical garments and apparel. We've done footwear.

BLAIR: Here's where Billy and Nick Smith are pretty dogmatic about certain design principles. First, they are knitting evangelists who shun the cut and sew approach.

B SMITH: I take a bit of offense to seams and stitching and sewing as well.

BLAIR: Offense because, among other reasons, there's waste. Sustainability is another one of their principles.

N SMITH: We're using a process where we only knit what we need, which is different from a traditional die-cut and sew approach. So there's very little waste in this product - actually less than a gram.

BLAIR: I've got the Bilio mask here. It comes in a resealable bag. It's a heather color. And the fabric is very tightly woven. According to Bilio, it's a combination of recycled polyester, a small amount of spandex and nylon and a silver-coated yarn.

JOEL FUREY: Even more pure than your sterling silver jewelry.

BLAIR: Joel Furey is the co-founder of Noble Biomaterials, the company that makes the silver-coated yarn in the Bilio mask called X-STATIC. It's also used in sportswear because of its anti-odor properties and medical supplies, like bandages for severe wounds and burns.

FUREY: Silver has for millennia been known as a great antimicrobial agent. And even before the microbiology was known, people would use silver for its healing properties and its ability to prevent the growth of organisms in, say, drinking water or milk. And it's had this magical quality to it since the beginning of recorded time.

BLAIR: Some have suggested that wearing masks keeps us from touching our face.

FUREY: What if the mask itself is contaminated and you're touching the mask? So our objective is to reduce or eliminate the growth of microbes directly on the surface of the mask.

BLAIR: Furey says they do not claim that a mask with their silver-coated fibers will keep everyone 100% safe, but X-STATIC's antimicrobial properties are approved by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The Smith brothers are also producing Bilio masks in the U.S. They're currently using a knitting mill in North Carolina and exploring other mills in Los Angeles and Missouri. Billy says they're committed to domestic manufacturing.

B SMITH: We've been going to China or going elsewhere for so many different needs. And if it's just volume we're after, there's really beautiful things happening in America right now around knitting. You're also avoiding a lot of the trouble from having to ship things around the world.

BLAIR: So between the production, design and materials, is the Bilio mask effective? We asked researchers at Northeastern University, Loretta Fernandez and Amy Mueller, to test it.

AMY MUELLER: That one, we came up with a mean particle removal efficiency around 82%.

BLAIR: Meaning the Bilio mask filtered out 82% of the particles in the room for the person wearing the mask at the time of testing. For reference, Mueller says the range of results is from a low of 28% to a high of 94%. They've been researching different kinds of masks at Northeastern. Of the more than 50 cloth masks they've tested, the Bilio came in 10th overall and second for the ones with ear loops. Loretta Fernandez says she was surprised because it's smaller than many of the masks they've tested. But because of the way it's knitted, she could mold it to her face.

LORETTA FERNANDEZ: As soon as I pinched it around my nose, the filtration efficiency boosted. So I think that fit around the nose really does help. The nose tends to be where a lot of the air leaks out, and then around the cheeks as well. So this one did fit in those areas without having to have a lot of surface area to the mask.

BLAIR: It's important to note that no mask will offer full protection, nor should wearing a mask be seen as a substitute for physical distancing of at least 6 feet and frequent hand-washing.

Billy and Nick Smith say they continue to refine the Bilio mask based on testing and feedback from customers. There's a lot to consider - breathability, comfort, adapting the masks to different climates and sizing. When they were developing the Bilio mask, they used the faces they could get closest to during the lockdown.

B SMITH: Nick, I think you and I became the two - I mean, your wife as well.

N SMITH: Yeah, it was really us. It was us in the beginning until we scratched our head and said, we got to get this on some other people.

BLAIR: Now that they're getting masks on other people, they're getting feedback and still tinkering.

Elizabeth Blair, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF LYMBYC SYSTYM'S "MORNING FLATS") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Elizabeth Blair is a Peabody Award-winning senior producer/reporter on the Arts Desk of NPR News.
Nina Gregory is a senior editor for NPR's Arts Desk, where she oversees coverage of film across the network and edits and and assigns stories on television, art, design, fashion, food, and culture.