The global COVID-19 pandemic has exposed numerous gaps in our global emergency readiness systems, which has been experienced by front-line healthcare workers and essential workers alike. The shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) has been well-documented by healthcare workers and no item of PPE has been as highly discussed and symbolized by the pandemic as the face mask. Capitalism is a major reason for the worldwide mask shortage by contributing to the switch from reusable to disposable masks in historical hospital systems and morphing the modern supply chain into an easily broken cost-cutter, while also contributing to the resurgence of reusable masks through business conversion and the maker movement.
In order to understand why disposable masks are so prevalent in modern hospital systems, we must understand the origins of reusable masks and the capitalist reasons why disposable masks became the norm. As Strasser and Schlich (2020) postulate, the fragility of public health has been symbolized by the face mask shortage. Early face masks were made of multiple layers of cotton gauze, with a metal frame bringing the mask into shape, which meant the mask was washable and therefore reusable (Strasser & Schlich, 2020). During the 1930s,disposable paper masks started becoming popular, with single-use synthetic masks becoming the norm in the 1960s through increased use of advertising, which fueled demand for these masks and created the idea that they were superior to reusable masks (Strasser & Schlich,2020). Whiteley (1987) argues that this “throwaway culture” was perpetuated by the growing income share of the middle class, who moved to suburbs and opened the American consumer market to become reliant on this middle class consumption of all manner of goods. Though face masks were not a product especially desired by this burgeoning middle class, the consumer values about consumption that this change brought reached the medical industry, reflected in this disposable face mask shift. This crucial 1960s decade was described by Whiteley (1987) as“the decade of disposability”. From a capitalist perspective, disposable masks came with huge advantages due to cheaper manufacturing costs and the need to fulfill the demand for disposable masks, which was facilitated by the marketing campaigns. Arguments in favour of this shift would point to the presumed increased quality and safety provided by the new disposable masks, however there are certain caveats to this argument. Industry-sponsored studies that were performed found that disposable masks were superior to cotton masks,however further studies omitted cotton masks altogether (Strasser & Schlich, 2020). Strasser and Schlich (2020) also found a 1975 study which concluded that the four-ply cotton mask was the best option. It is plausible to question the integrity of these industry-sponsored studies because of the capitalist-based advantages that disposable masks present. This study was one of the last ones to include cotton masks and gives legitimacy to the question of whether modern industrial cotton masks would be the best option in a modern hospital. Based on the evidence presented, capitalism influenced the rise of disposable masks through inexpensive labour advantages, an effective advertising campaign that influenced demand and a rise in “throwaway culture”, further reinforced by studies that demonstrated the superiority of disposable masks albeit with questions about integrity.
Somewhat ironically, capitalism has also contributed to the resurgence of reusable masks for the general population during the pandemic. Capps’ (2020) article gives many testimonials from small business owners who converted their businesses to small-scale mask manufacturing to replace lost profits. The cloth mask industry has become inflated due to global mandatory mask orders, with 40% more companies offering masks to purchase (Friedman, 2020). This raises some ethical concerns around large corporations that are discussed by Friedman (2020): are companies using this time of trauma to capitalize on capitalist opportunities? Small-scale business that make masks often identify themselves as part of the maker movement. This movement is centred around filling the gaps in the supply chain through homemade cotton masks. Although this movement has noble intentions, it is still based on capitalist ideals and exists directly because these capitalist ideals have failed modern medical workers.
Throughout this post, capitalism has been the underlying theme as the cause of worldwide face mask shortages and the “too-little, too-late” manufacturing of reusable masks. Capitalism has exacerbated the problems by being a fundamental reason for the mask shortage by contributing to the switch from reusable to disposable masks in historical hospital systems and morphing the modern supply chain into an easily broken cost-cutter, while also contributing to the resurgence of reusable masks through business conversion and the maker movement. If we do not begin to change the ways that capitalist ideals have influenced the world, the effects of the next global catastrophe could be even worse.
References
Capps, K. (2020, April 6). The maker movement mobilizes to fight coronavirus. Bloomberg CityLab. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-06/the-maker-movement-mobilizes-to-fight-coronavirus
Friedman, V. (2020, May 6). Should masks be a fashion statement? The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/22/fashion/coronavirus-fashion-face-masks.html
O’Leary, L. (2020, March 19). The modern supply chain is snapping. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/supply-chains-and-coronavirus/608329/
Strasser, B.J. (2020). A history of the medical mask and the rise of throwaway culture. TheLancet, 369(10243), 19-20.
Whiteley, N. (1987). Toward a throw-away culture. Consumerism, ‘style obsolescence’ and cultural theory in the 1950s and 1960s. Oxford Art Journal, 10(2), 3-27