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The Internet Biotech

Coronavirus: Could Etsy Help Save the World? (etsy.com) 55

Posted by EditorDavid from the heavesn-to-Etsy dept.
Long-time Slashdot reader theodp writes: With the CDC now recommending wearing cloth face coverings in public settings, Etsy has called in the cavalry, encouraging additional sellers on its platform to start creating and offering face masks to help meet an already significant demand for fabric face masks. "We believe that the Etsy community is uniquely positioned to address this crucial need during a global health crisis," Etsy CEO Josh Silverman said in a statement. "We hope that increasing the availability of fabric, non-medical grade face masks from Etsy sellers will allow more medical and surgical masks to reach the people who need them most: front-line health care workers."
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Coronavirus: Could Etsy Help Save the World? More

Coronavirus: Could Etsy Help Save the World?

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  • Many who are first will be last, and the last first...

  • 1. Work out what a N95 mask is.
    2. Work out who in your nation can make a N95 mask. Say 100000 a day to get started and test the production.
    3. Support and fund the brand that can make a lot of N95 masks after some testing..
    4. Have the gov buy up all the N95 masks from the production line from the private sector.
    5. Use the masks for the gov, health care workers, police, mil...
    6. Got the nation buying masks? Get each state making masks and buy up the state production of new masks.
    7. Start t
    • Have you read the patent for the n95 mask ? They really don't seem so hard to make, even by hand.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by AHuxley ( 892839 )
        Look at South Korea with the KF94 mask.
        Smart nations get ready and find how to make what is needed to look after they own citizens.
  • USA today sucks. If I can't visit a site without it shitting trackers on my computer, don't link to it.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by bjwest ( 14070 )
      uBlock Origin and uMatrix are your friends. Install them and worry and stress less.

  • Many, many people working for free on this (Score:4, Interesting)

    by SuperKendall ( 25149 ) on Sunday April 05, 2020 @03:30AM (#59909758)

    While there may be an army of Etsy people selling masks, there is also a huge army of people with sewing machines and fabric that are producing masks for free and donating them to healthcare workers.

    My wife is a quilter normally and has, as do all quilters, a massive stockpile of fabric. Quilting fabric is cotton, but is even better than normal fabric as higher quality quilting fabric has a tighter weave (especially batik fabrics) - plus people who sew a lot do not have issues following somewhat more complex instructions involving pleats (folds) and producing better masks.

    It was kind of funny in early days seeing absurd requirements from some health care orgs around masks - one wanted masks to be made out of denim, which almost no people have as loose fabric, and furthermore almost no-one has machinery to sew (you can maybe sew through one layer of denim OK on most home sewing machines, but any designs with pleats will tear up anything not industrial).

    Now, they are saying to send whatever masks people can make as they realize the utility and quality of what home sewers can provide... all without buying anything. You can find groups online for a local area that re-distribute collected masks to whoever needs them.

    • Re:Many, many people working for free on this (Score:5, Insightful)

      by ZuckFucker ( 6110380 ) on Sunday April 05, 2020 @04:54AM (#59909866)
      Which does no good, effectively distributing worthless "masks" to people who then will feel like they're safer. So they'll go out unnecessarily, ignore other precautions, and engage in general douchebaggery. Giving people masks which aren't effective actually is a detriment to public health, but I guess it makes some douche feel good.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by dwywit ( 1109409 )

        Are you qualified to pass judgement. Not even a question mark, you're not qualified, so shut up. Really. Shut your cakehole. You're the douche. Yes, you are.

        *ANY* barrier between you and the air you breathe is better than none. Anyone with an ounce of attention in high-school physics can figure this out - but I guess you didn't pay attention in school.

        So shut up. Really. Shut your cakehole. Again.

        • *ANY* barrier between you and the air you breathe is better than none.

          If the mask material is too tightly woven, like denim -- I have a yard of light-weight, pre-washed and it's almost impossible to breath through -- the inhaled air won't be coming through the material but from around the edges, which is basically the same as no mask. It may work as an exhalation barrier, though, to limit the effects of coughing, which helps keep other safe from you.

        • Are you qualified to pass judgement. Not even a question mark, you're not qualified, so shut up. Really. Shut your cakehole. You're the douche. Yes, you are.

          *ANY* barrier between you and the air you breathe is better than none. Anyone with an ounce of attention in high-school physics can figure this out - but I guess you didn't pay attention in school.

          So shut up. Really. Shut your cakehole. Again.

          Actually, the MD behind my RL name, the US government, and five state medical boards appear to feel otherwise.

          As fahrbot-bot said, if the material is too tightly woven you're going to breathe around the mask. This doesn't help. If it's too porous, it's going to trap viral particles and hold them there for a far longer time. That is counterproductive. If people feel like now they're "protected" and they stop social distancing and go out when they otherwise wouldn't, it just increases spread. What this will

          • If people feel like now they're "protected" and they stop social distancing and go out when they otherwise wouldn't, it just increases spread.

            This "if" is literally all you've got. And it's an if.

            Your own viral load staying in the mask is better than it going into the air around you. Someone else's viral load is better staying in the mask than going into your lungs.

      • The message that needs to come with the masks is that they aren't for you, they're for everyone else. You keep OTHER people safe in the event that you're an asymptomatic carrier. It's our shared responsibility to keep each other safe.

        And even simple pleated surgical masks are extremely effective at stopping corona viruses and influenza. (Not so much rhinoviruses.)

        https://www.nature.com/article... [nature.com]

        tl;dr Pleated masks stop effectively all exhaled coronavirus in symptomatic carriers. (Carried out several years

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by Moskit ( 32486 )

        Why "not good"?

        At this stage almost any mask that can cut droplets can reduce the risk. This even includes a cut piece of t-shirt - tests show it can stop 50% of particles. This is not N95, but this is better than 0 (full exposure, no protection).

        These are desperate times. Single-use certified mask is a luxury, it's time to return to reusable masks that are properly (temperature, duration) sterilised, just like in many hospitals not that long ago (except maybe USA or other "rich" countries).

      • Which does no good, effectively distributing worthless "masks" to people who then will feel like they're safer. So they'll go out unnecessarily, ignore other precautions, and engage in general douchebaggery. Giving people masks which aren't effective actually is a detriment to public health, but I guess it makes some douche feel good.

        If the goal is to not inhale or spray out droplets, then a cloth mask is not "worthless". Any attenuation is better than none.

      • Which does no good, effectively distributing worthless "masks" to people who then will feel like they're safer.

        You no comprehende the English?

        It's not for "people who will then feel like they are safer".

        It's for medical professionals who actually want to BE safer and have determined these masks will help. They are asking for them, and people who have been sewing for decades are providing well-constructed masks made with high-quality fabric.

        In some cases they are using the masks as fabric covers over N-95 m

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Kokuyo ( 549451 )

      Any decent sewing machine will sew several layers of denim... If someone feels competent enough to sew something with pleats, they'll also probably not dick around with a 100 dollar sewing machine off of aliexpress.

      At least one would hope so...

      • they'll also probably not dick around with a 100 dollar sewing machine off of aliexpress.

        Do you actually sew?

        I bought a £100 John Lewis JL110. You can get a Brother machine for slightly less or slightly more too. Those are decent brands brought from a bricks and mortar store, full taxes paid etc.

        I mean sure, they are not as fast or powerful as that 1/2 HP cast steel Singer beast with a clutch for speed control that I've used a bit. On the other hand they have some really neat features that it di

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by dwywit ( 1109409 )

          "steel Singer beast "

          Ain't that the truth. Those machines were made to last for centuries. They're flippin' heavy.

          They might not do fancy stitches, but they'll make basic clothes for as long as you want.

          • Ain't that the truth. Those machines were made to last for centuries. They're flippin' heavy.

            The one I'm thinking of was, if not made to last centuries, made to last for years in a factory working all day under full load day in, day out for years, ploughing through whatever was put in front of it. Oh and doing it all as fast as possible because time is money. Honestly it was a beaut. I wish I still had it, but it was got rid of by my family due to space constraints long before I had room to have it and even

    • ... one wanted masks to be made out of denim, which almost no people have as loose fabric, ...

      I actually have about a yard of light-weight, pre-washed denim and even one layer is almost impossible to breath through -- much more difficult than a fitted N95 mask (I have 1 of these) -- so making a mask out of denim, especially double-layered seems problematic. Any air inhaled would probably come in from the gaps around the edges rather than through the material, making the mask less than ideal (to put it nicely). Perhaps it would suffice as an exhalation barrier, but it would be difficult, hot and (ev

  • These people wont be doing anything unless they are allowed to set their own price.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      The masks have to be free to the user, i.e. paid for by the government. Etsy isn't going to help, they need to be mass produced by the millions. The N95 ones need a sterile environment too.

      • To make an N95 mask you need N95 filtration media. N95 filtration media filters 95% of particles 0.3 microns or larger in size. Good luck getting your hands on it. Regular cotton fabrics pass particules orders of magnitude larger in diameter. And the smaller particles are the longer they stay suspended in air.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by dwywit ( 1109409 )

          Do they pass *all* particles of that size or larger? How many of those particles are trapped? How many get through?

          This is a question I've wondered about. A barrier that filters x% of particles y in size. OK. Does that mean it doesn't filter *any* particles smaller than that? Do *none* of those smaller particles get trapped in/on the matrix?

          Think about the airflow through the filter. Some particles will make their way through, some will hit and be trapped by the filter. Just because you're a particle smalle

      • The masks have to be free to the user, i.e. paid for by the government

        Don't people in Asia generally buy their own masks?

        Etsy isn't going to help, they need to be mass produced by the millions. The N95 ones need a sterile environment too.

        Depends what the goal is. One of these masks isn't a substitute for an N95 respirator. They're also not likely to protect the wearer much at all. However, they do offer a small degree of protection to those around the wearer in that they do reduce the travelling distance o

        • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

          by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          In the far East people do buy their own masks when they are plentiful and extremely cheap. One Euro for a pack of 50 in China at normal times. Since the outbreak started the Chinese government has been providing free masks, both to prevent price gouging and because some people can't work or afford them. Japan has been giving out free ones too and some retailers have started offering them at cost or free at the door, perhaps out of self interest as much as anything.

          Masks are pretty effective against micro dr

    • That would be the proper way for the government to manage allocation, let the free market set prices, then meet or beat the price that the average citizen is ready and willing to pay.

      Instead of first lying and saying face masks are harmful, then demanding production from private entities when its clear that nobody fucking believes it.

  • Why not? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by h33t l4x0r ( 4107715 ) on Sunday April 05, 2020 @04:30AM (#59909838)
    According to Dr. Bonespurs, all we need is a scarf. Thanks, Etsy!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Mashiki ( 184564 )

      According to Prime Minster Selfie, China didn't fudge the numbers. The WHO is doing a great job. And the entire situation is fundamentally overblown, you plebs don't need to see the data we're using either. Never mind that the largest province in Canada just told Ottawa to pound sand, and released all the metrics info publicly.

    • A scarf or bandana is better than nothing, and for the average person is just as effective as a properly rated mask because most people don't use them correctly. Face coverings of any type help reduce transmission rates because they reduce the amount of large droplets and prevent people from touching their faces.

    • According to Dr. Bonespurs, all we need is a scarf. Thanks, Etsy!

      A scarf is better than nothing.

  • Bull (Score:2, Funny)

    by nospam007 ( 722110 ) *

    Hermes-Scarfs claim the same thing.

  • from global warming

  • The problem with Etsy getting involved in the mask-making thing is that any mask you found for sale there would most likely have been mass-produced in China.

    Etsy began as a "hand-crafted and antique" site, and a lot of people liked it for a long time. It's not so much that way these days.
    They still promote it as being that way, but a casual browse of the last few months of any etsy-oriented forum will show otherwise.
    There is a widespread belief that they have strayed from their original principles, and

  • I did experiments on non-woven viscose fabric [google.com], which is commonly sold as cheap cleaning cloths in the Netherlands ("viscosedoekjes") and Germany ("Haushaltstücher viskose"). It has a comfortably low airflow resistance (unless you're trying to run a marathon) and it seems to be an excellent filter for smoke particles in the 0.1 to 0.5 micron size range, far better than jersey t-shirt fabric or woven pillow-case fabric.

    I'm still trying to find out whether this type of cleaning cloths are sold in the US a

  • I'll spend the money from the job I don't have, to support the economy that no longer exists.

  • You couldn't add this to the summary you lazy editors? Oh wait, that would take work. /s

    E-commerce website Etsy

  • WTF is wrong with you people (the sleezoids posting and approving this), hasn't Slashdot suffered enough?
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion

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