{"id":62430,"date":"2020-06-17T13:18:32","date_gmt":"2020-06-17T17:18:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/?p=62430"},"modified":"2020-06-17T13:18:32","modified_gmt":"2020-06-17T17:18:32","slug":"demand-for-face-shields-looks-to-be-heating-up-as-canadians-seek-summertime-covid-protection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/canada\/demand-for-face-shields-looks-to-be-heating-up-as-canadians-seek-summertime-covid-protection\/","title":{"rendered":"Demand for face shields looks to be heating up as Canadians seek summertime COVID protection"},"content":{"rendered":"

If wearing a face mask seemed strange to most people not so long ago, wearing a plastic face shield had to be downright weird.<\/p>\n

But as summertime arrives in Canada, interest in the plastic face coverings is heating up with the weather. Already in regular use by medical staff and some members of the public, face shields appear to be gaining appeal, boosting sales for manufacturers.<\/p>\n

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Fans say the devices are not only cooler to wear than cloth masks, but they allow for better breathing, make it easier to be understood when speaking. And most importantly, they offer better protection from the virus.<\/p>\n

“Face shields protect your eyes, your nose and your mouth,” said Dr. Michael Edmond, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Iowa, who recently published\u00a0an article promoting shields\u00a0in the Journal of the American Medical Association.<\/p>\n

“Those are the three areas where the virus can enter the body.”<\/p>\n

Edmond said while face masks are intended to protect others, a face shield protects the wearer.<\/p>\n

“Masks are really being recommended to control the virus at source, not to protect you,” he said.<\/p>\n

Coming soon to retail<\/h2>\n

Aurora, Ont.-based auto parts maker Axiom, which got into the personal protective equipment (PPE) business at the onset of the pandemic, is in the process of finalizing a deal with a major national retail chain.<\/p>\n

“We just got confirmation that we will be found in their online store as the\u00a0Axiom face shield,” said Max Preston, general manager of the company division that makes the shields.<\/p>\n

“If it sells well online, then they’ll bring it into the storefront.”<\/p>\n

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Axiom’s Canadian-made face shield should be available to consumers in the next few weeks.\u00a0(Submitted by Axiom)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Then there’s the Canadian Shield, a Waterloo, Ont., startup\u00a0making millions of face shields\u00a0for health-care providers and essential workers. It has just launched sales to the general public.<\/p>\n

“Demand is quite high,” said founder Jeremy Hedges, who says orders for 1,000 shields poured in as soon as the product was offered to consumers.<\/p>\n

“I think especially when it’s hot outside, wearing a face shield is a really great way for people to socialize.”<\/p>\n

But what about the vanity factor? Unlike masks, which are available in colourful, playful and even dressy styles, most face shields on the market look more like what riot police wear \u2014 an image seen in many disturbing news reports lately.<\/p>\n

Bulky and uncomfortable vs. fashionable<\/h2>\n

“They’re bulky, they’re uncomfortable, they’re awkward,” said Joe Doucet, a New York City-based multidisciplinary designer who works in consumer electronics, graphic design, architecture and fashion.<\/p>\n

“It’s completely alien to put one on. You feel like you’re living in a bad dystopian future.”<\/p>\n

But after Doucet read several articles about how effective the devices are in preventing COVID-19 contagion, he concluded people should be encouraged to wear face shields.<\/p>\n

“I thought that if I can make them stylish and cool, people would want to wear them,” he said.<\/p>\n

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The Canadian Shield founder Jeremy Hedges wears one of his products in the company’s Waterloo, Ont., factory. It is producing a million shields a week.\u00a0(Submitted by The Canadian Shield)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

He based his new design on the look of sunglasses\u00a0and posted pictures to Instagram. “The response was overwhelming,” he said. “I would wake up to a thousand emails every day.”<\/p>\n

His company\u00a0has partnered with manufacturers in Italy and Germany to have the shields made, and Doucet says they’ll be taking orders within a couple of weeks.<\/p>\n

“We’re licensing the design to different brands to have sports versions and so on\u00a0to reach the scale of manufacturing to meet the level of demand,” he said.<\/p>\n

Made in Canada<\/h2>\n

Hedges of the Canadian Shield says Canada’s shortage of PPE at the onset of the pandemic has had a positive result\u00a0in that there are now plenty of domestic suppliers.<\/p>\n

“We’ve learned the hard way that the global supply chain is not going to make Canada a priority,” he said.<\/p>\n

Hedges expects that\u00a0many Canadian manufacturers\u00a0will move production back home in wake of the pandemic.<\/p>\n

“We have an opportunity to re-envision how our economy works, and everything essential is going to be made here,” he said.<\/p>\n

The 27-year-old entrepreneur \u2014 who had already founded an educational technology company called\u00a0InkSmith\u00a0\u2014 landed a federal government contract in April to make 10 million masks for health-care and other essential workers. Once he was confident that the Canadian Shield could deliver on that commitment, he opened sales to retail consumers.<\/p>\n

He’s been hiring as quickly as he can, growing his team from just 10 employees to 270.<\/p>\n

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