NIIHAMA, Ehime -- A husband and wife pair in Niihama, Ehime Prefecture, have developed a liner to keep the inside of masks clean.
A trial sale was held at a pharmacy in the city, and word of mouth resulted in 10,000 sets being sold in 10 days. The company is accepting online orders from today.
The liner was developed by Akio Takuma, 48, the head of the Takumax processing company, which handles nonwoven fabrics and paper products, and his wife Nami, 48, who runs the Ranlise manufacturing company, which makes cosmetic face masks.
Takuma's company has been making industrial and agricultural masks for about 20 years. In late February, he started receiving more requests to manufacture masks, but he has focused on liners for masks, which are inexpensive and can be made in large quantities in a short time.
The couple combined their skills and ideas to develop the liner. Nami made more than 30 prototypes with different thicknesses and materials, mainly focusing on breathability and comfort.
Takuma focused on the product not easily slipping off, and how easy it was to put on and take off. He came up with the idea of making cuts at both ends of the liner to allow the strings of the mask to pass through.
It took about a month to complete the liner, which is made of 100% domestic cotton and is gentle to the skin. There are two sizes, large and small, and the suggested retail price for both is 350, yen including tax, for a pack of 50.
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