By: Dylan Cochin, Economics and Biology & Society ‘2027
Wearing masks became commonplace during the COVID-19 pandemic, with individuals utilizing N95 and KN95 masks, surgical masks, and a variety of stylish cloth masks. However, as of 2024, many American mask companies are shutting down their businesses.
Three years after the beginning of the pandemic, fewer people are wearing masks due to the elimination of the mask mandate [1]. With a dramatic decrease in their demand, around 70% of the 100 U.S. mask companies created during the pandemic closed [2]. Since 2021, U.S. production of N95 and surgical masks also declined by more than 90% [2].
Project N95, a nonprofit that aided individuals in buying personal protective equipment (PPE), was one of the companies that stopped selling masks [3]. The business states that its revenues and donations weren’t enough to continue operation [3].
Mask-C, another popular mask company during the pandemic, also had plans to shut down. Previously, these masks were worn by celebrities such as Rihanna, Bella Hadid, and Jennifer Lopez, but the company stated that “due to circumstances beyond our control, we have made the difficult decision to close our doors'' [3].
Project N95 and Mask-C were two of the most popular protective equipment companies, selling some of the highly regarded N95 and KN95 masks [3]. Although decreased demand for masks played a role in the closure of many of these well-known businesses, there was also another key factor: imports from foreign companies.
Prior to the pandemic, the United States relied heavily on certain foreign companies for their protective equipment, with China being the largest manufacturer of masks. Even U.S. companies like Honeywell and 3M manufactured their masks abroad [4]. At the beginning of 2020, less than 10% of N95 respirators were created in the United States [4].
However, when COVID-19 became a worldwide problem, the United States struggled to buy masks from foreign companies. Due to the high demand for masks, China decided to restrict its export of masks to the United States [4]. Even U.S. companies like Honeywell had a difficult time importing masks from foreign countries. As a result, domestic mask companies began to thrive.
In 2021, hospitals and consumers resumed the import of masks from China, largely due to price differences [5]. Specifically, industry executives and Congress stated that imports are sometimes “a tenth of what American factories charge for comparable products,” and hospitals aren’t willing to buy smaller production sizes of masks for higher costs [2].
In response to an abundance of protective gear imports, the Department of Health and Human Services reached out to Congress. They asked the government for $400 million to maintain businesses that emerged during the pandemic and promote the expansion of domestic protective equipment companies [2]. Currently, Congress’s response is unknown.
Clearly, the future of the U.S. protective equipment industry is unclear. Numerous companies are struggling to stay open with little government intervention, and it is evident that this problem needs to be addressed immediately. So this raises the question: how can we help domestic businesses that helped us during the pandemic?
References
Face mask mandates fall away among many hospitals, doctors - WSJ. The Wall Street Journal. (2023, May 21). https://www.wsj.com/articles/face-mask-mandates-fall-away-among-many-hospitals-doctors-6ecaa3e
Tita, B. (2024, February 4). The U.S. invested millions to produce masks at home. now ... The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/the-u-s-invested-millions-to-produce-masks-at-home-now-nobodys-buying-fee1c49f
Mather, V. (2023, December 5). Two N95 companies shut down, as an era ends. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/05/business/covid-mask-n95.html
Evstatieva, M. (2021, June 25). U.S. companies shifted to make N95 respirators during COVID. now, they’re struggling. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2021/06/25/1009858893/u-s-companies-shifted-to-make-n95-respirators-during-covid-now-theyre-struggling
Jacobs, A. (2021, May 29). A glut of Chinese masks is driving U.S. companies out of business. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/29/health/us-china-mask-production.html
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