Coronavirus | Now, masks with pics of your favourite star

Surge in demand sees Tiruppur units churning them out in big way

Updated - May 15, 2020 03:57 am IST

Published - May 15, 2020 12:12 am IST - COIMBATORE

Coimbatore Tamil Nadu 14/05/2020.
A garment exporting company in Tiruppur makes masks with images of actors.
Photo:HANDOUT_E_MAIL.

Coimbatore Tamil Nadu 14/05/2020.
A garment exporting company in Tiruppur makes masks with images of actors.
Photo:HANDOUT_E_MAIL.

With several garment factories in Tiruppur taking up mask production in a big way in the last one-and-a-half months, the orders have begun to come in thick and fast, and for varied needs — surgical masks, “fashion” masks, customised masks, and even masks bearing images of actors.

V.S. Chandrakumar, chief executive officer, Sentinal Clothing, which used to make T-shirts with logos, says he decided to try out the concept for masks too. “The demand is huge from corporates for customised masks,” he says. Several companies want masks with their logos printed. Some give the design for the masks too, he adds.

With an eye on market share, Mr. Chandrakumar says he began making masks with images of actors printed on them.

“This immediately led to demand shooting up. We make 300-500 pieces a day with images of actors. However, customised masks with logos are more in demand,” he adds.

Popular choices

In the last few days, the company has sold over 4,000 masks with images of actors on them. With the in-house design facilities, he has so far printed images of a few Tamil actors and those in the Netflix series Money Heist . “It is all based on customer response and demand,” he adds.

The masks are made of knitted, double-layered cotton fabric that is bio-washed. So the products can be reused, he says.

Such is the demand for masks now that many factories in Tiruppur have decided to focus on them for the next three to six months. The exporters are all waiting for the Central government to permit sales abroad.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.