Words by Smiley Team
The pandemic has meant people now wear face masks as they go about their daily lives. While in the UK, it’s no longer a legal requirement in most settings, many still choose to wear them while they’re in crowded or public spaces.
Reusable face coverings are a great option, but many opt for the blue disposable face masks that are chucked away and sent to landfill.
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Marie Bee Bloom face masks are different. Creator Marianne de Groot-Pons explains that she made masks that are 100% biodegradable and contain flower seeds. This means you can plant them in your garden or flower pot after use, and they will sprout flowers.
“With these masks, we can bloom the world,” she tells Smiley News.
Marianne says it took a while to collect all the right materials with her husband when she first had the idea to make biodegradable masks. It all started in lockdown at the kitchen table, she says, folding, gluing, testing, and trialling.
“After it became a success, we got a lot of orders,” she says. “We made the masks with than 20 people, controlled by a professional producer, all by hand with local materials from the Netherlands.”
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It was an important project for her. “I was very annoyed by all the masks that pollute the earth, I wanted to do something good, something back for mother earth,” she says.
The masks are sold online through their website and shipped to all countries in Europe. Visit mariebeebloom.com to find out more.
