By Danielle Kutchel
A Dandenong South manufacturer is hoping that its pivot to Covid-normal will pay off, as they roll out a range of highly-protective, high-quality reusable face masks.
And Micro Plastics is hoping to play its part in the pivot to Australian-made, as consumers and governments look to bring manufacturing and production back ‘in-house’.
As restrictions bit into the business earlier this year, Micro Plastics moved quickly to develop a series of reusable face masks – but unlike most of those flooding the market, these masks are certified to a P2 level, meaning they are even more effective at protecting wearers against particulates.
The masks have attracted plenty of interest from major distributors, like Bunnings, Total Tools and Officeworks.
Managing director Russell Lacey says the retail giants love his masks for a number of reasons, including that they are Australian-made, reusable and well-designed.
They are also cheaper than their overseas-owned competitors.
Now, they’re falling into production and stock is ready to go – but customers don’t have to wait for stock to appear in their local trade store to get their hands on one.
For the first time in its history, Micro Plastics has taken a bold step into selling directly to the retail market via a new website, www.mpaussieproducts.com.au
They also began running ads on Facebook to promote their products – but hit a snag when Facebook deemed the ads to be unacceptable and cut them from the platform.
“It stopped us right in our tracks,” Mr Lacey said.
The excuse given by the social media behemoth was that Micro Plastics was using the pandemic to sell products.
“Whilst that could be seen as true, we’re just trying to give people who are looking for face masks a local option,” he said.
He’s since been able to have their advertisements reinstated but must not mention the most attractive selling point: the masks’ P2 certification.
The masks are suitable for a range of purposes, making them a useful accessory even beyond Covid-19: for tradies, home projects like painting, or even as a guard against smoke during bushfire season.
“We’re in it for the long game,” Mr Lacey explained.
“We’ve got new designs we’re looking at for larger and smaller masks as well, and we’re tooling up for the larger one as we speak.”
The masks are especially useful for tradies as they can be washed on-site or wiped down with hand sanitiser.
The environmental credentials of these masks are also impressive – being reusable, they already contribute to less waste.
Currently, the company recommends filters be replaced after a full day of wear, however Micro Plastics is seeking CSIRO confirmation of whether or not they could be reused.
Meanwhile, the company is also looking to make the filter materials recyclable, so that they could take back used filters and recycle them into more products.
To find out more or to purchase a mask, visit www.mpaussieproducts.com.au
