Starting this month, you will find the Swedish automaker also selling batik reusable facemasks at its outlets nationwide.
The Volvo Batik Reusable Facemasks come in a set of three, with two available size options – medium and large. Each set of anti-microbial masks comes in three colour variations, which are Dark Blue (sunflower), Navy Blue (stargazer lily), and Sky Blue (jasmine). They retail at RM99 per set.
The masks were the result of a collaboration between Volvo Car Malaysia and two local companies, Three Little Ahmads and NanoTextile. The three-way partnership produces reusable fabric masks with a unique Batik Tekap pattern as a tribute to the Malaysian art heritage.
Each mask is designed and assembled by hand. It is made up of 100 per cent cotton, is anti-bacterial, water-repellent and provides bacterial and viral protection for up to 100 gentle washes.
NanoTextile is the company making the masks using nanotechnology to reduce the penetration of tainted droplets and infections from viruses or bacteria. The addition of a PM 2.5 filter provides a fifth layer of protection and has been tested to effectively filter out 90 per cent of viral particles.
Locally designed by Three Little Ahmads – a Malaysian-founded children’s clothing brand and social enterprise – the masks are ethically sourced, made and produced by single mothers, women in rural neighbourhoods and GIATMara vocational alumnus, who lost their jobs after the factories they worked in failed following the Movement Control Order in March 2020, resulting in some of them having to pawn off the jewellery they had received as dowries to make ends meet.
For each face mask produced, an individual from this target community would be fairly compensated. To date, the income from the production of these masks have not only provided these women with a stable source of income but also earned them enough to buy back all their jewellery from pawnshops.
“This collaboration truly falls in line with Volvo’s core philosophy of ‘Omtanke’, which is a Swedish word and Volvo’s brand ethos that means ‘to care’ and ‘to be considerate’," said Volvo Car Malaysia marketing and PR director Akhtar Sulaiman.
For more information about the masks, go to www.volvocars.com/my/volvo-branded-face-mask or follow Volvo Car Malaysia on Facebook http://bit.ly/VolvoMY-FB and Instagram http://bit.ly/VolvoMY-IG for more updates.
