António Moreira Gonçalves
“If you’re going to do it, do it right”, was the motto that motivated Luís Campos, founder of Westmister, to progress from socks to protective masks production. The brand created a seamless model matching their socks, which, besides the fashion accessory qualities, passed the CITEVE tests with flying colours.
Produced without seams and made from two layers of 80% cotton and 20% polyamide fabric, the masks come with a replaceable NOF (non-woven fabric) filter. When examined at CITEVE, the solution had an outstanding performance: in terms of breathability or permeability to air, presented an average flow of 14 litres per minute (the minimum is 8) and a particle retaining ability of 82% (the minimum is 70%). These results have guaranteed its certification up to five washing cycles, which could become more in the future.
For now Westmister has released three models – matching their three socks models for men – and has another upcoming design. “In the male sector we’ll continue making patterns. For women, through our brand Eutopia, we will launch a sock collection that will also include masks”, announces Luís Campos.
The project has attracted the attention of customers and partners alike, and is showing its first results. “Some of the international brands we work with are considering production in private label regime. Plus, we had already negotiated our entrance into the Mexican market via the Liverpool department stores for the upcoming season, but because of the masks they decided to anticipate the orders”, he declares.