BÖNNIGHEIM, GERMANY (June 8, 2020) – Oronasal (community) masks are mandatory in many communities to help contain the coronavirus. To be effective, community masks must meet legal and functional requirements. Testing services provider and research partner Hohenstein developed the Hohenstein Quality Label for Tested Community Masks to meet and verify these needs.
While not required to guarantee defined protective functions like medical face masks or filtering facepiece (FFP) respirators, disposable and reusable community masks are still subject to functional claims. By providing easily understood product information on labels, Hohenstein supports producers in increasing transparency for community mask users.
Breathing comfort is a key criterion for consumers. To meet quality criteria, standardized test procedures verify whether the material used is too dense and will make breathing difficult for wearers. Further quality parameters include washability, proper fit and compliance with legal requirements.
The quality criteria claimed on the label can be expanded by testing for harmful substances according to STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX® as an indicator for skin friendly textiles and a cytotoxicity test based on the testing of medical devices.
More detailed information can be found at Hohenstein.US/HQL-Community-Mask.
###
About Hohenstein
With over 1,000 employees in more than 40 branches, offices and laboratories worldwide, Hohenstein is an internationally oriented testing services provider and research partner in the textile industry. Hohenstein is a founding member and leading provider of the OEKO-TEX® portfolio of services and is certified by the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC ID #1058) as a third-party, independent laboratory for CPSIA compliance verification.
