Our Mission
People Protection Equipment
AirPop’s mission is to create masks that everyone worldwide can rely upon. Our masks are designed to fit everyone, be unnoticeable during wear, and to perform to the highest filtration standards.
While our primary mission is simple - to create a mask that is truly for everybody and one that you can wear every day - a multifaceted approach was needed. Unfortunately, the mask industry is stagnant, and no innovation has been made for years. This is an issue because current masks have many problems. They are designed to fit a small group of people, are downright uncomfortable, and are environmentally destructive.
But before you get to the issues with masks themselves, there’s a more significant issue. Little is known about the harmful impacts of air pollution, and awareness surrounding the issue is lacking. Despite a greater than ever awareness of how external factors impact our bodies, air pollution is all too often overlooked. That leads to our core goals:
To Inform
With over 99% of the world's population exposed to harmful airborne pollutants daily, air pollution is an issue that we all need to consider. This isn't something that impacts 'them'; it's something that affects you. You may not realise it, but air pollution is impacting your health this second.
Despite this, we very rarely talk about air pollution. When was the last time you saw air pollution discussed on the news? Probably a long time ago. This is a problem. Despite being very harmful to human health, air pollution isn't discussed, and it's often not even considered.
This isn’t right. Air pollution impacts us, it impacts you, and it impacts everyone we know. We can’t afford to overlook this modern threat. With a lack of accessible information on the topic, we decided to put together an in-depth Air Resource Centre that’s free to access.
To Innovate
Our second and primary goal is to provide a mask that exceeds all others on the market. A mask that excels in filtration and fit while being unnoticeable during wear. Further, our mission is to create a mask that simply works. Regardless of who you are, AirPop masks are designed with everyone in mind.
The problem in the mask industry is that many manufacturers use the same machinery and factories. This means that they’re very limited in their innovation. Let’s be honest; we’ve all used masks with flimsy wire nose pieces and earloops that break. Unfortunately, these problems are too common in the industry because most companies create the same products with different badges.
A good mask starts with good machinery. We realised this early on. If we wanted to achieve our goal to make an accessible mask for everyone, we needed to innovate from the factory up.
To Change
Our final mission is to create change. While it's unfortunate, we believe that masks will become an essential part of our toolkit in the not-so-distant future. Climate change is here, and it comes with increased levels of air pollution.
Yet, for many reasons, much of the world doesn't see the need to wear masks. If you want to protect your eyes on a bright sunny day you can wear sunglasses, and there's no big deal surrounding it. However, when it comes to wearing a mask to protect your breathing functions, there is not currently the same level of social acceptance.
At AirPop, our final goal is to build acceptance around masks and the culture of masking by creating masks people will wear.
Interview with Co-Founder
AirPop was born from a personal need to support the respiratory health and wellness of the co-founders' children.
When Chris Hosmer was living in China his 2-year old and a newborn both suffered from acute respiratory reactions to the local air pollution.
Inspired by the need to protect his family, Chris and Co-Founder Jett Fu, founded AirPop with the goal of innovating daily respiratory protection for billions of people around the World.