#maskingforafriend: Mask up Adas

We’re passionate about wearing face masks to help save lives. And we’re also passionate about supporting women-owned businesses. To that end, we are sharing a campaign we love.

Here at Ada’s List, we’re passionate about wearing face coverings / masks to help save lives. And we’re also passionate about supporting women-owned businesses. To that end, we are sharing a campaign we love. Bluebella lingerie is selling masks with all profits (£5 per covering) going to Chayn, a global network helping women and non-binary people fight domestic abuse and sexual violence. 

Chayn run a fantastic support network of survivor-led resources in several countries seeking to stop domestic abuse, child abuse, forced marriage, sexual assault and discrimination. Never has Chayn’s work been more important to combat the catastrophic worldwide surge in domestic violence the pandemic and ensuing lockdown restrictions have created. Learn more about Chayn’s work and the warning signs of domestic and sexual abuse. And read the blog post announcement at Bluebella

Hera Hussein, Chayn’s founder, is a long time Ada’s List member and we are thrilled to support her. And Bluebella’s CEO Emily Bendell is my next door neighbor and an amazing entrepreneur. 


Why are we into face masks? 


In a global community like Ada’s List, we know that some of you are just as passionate about wearing that face mask as we are and others, not so much. Here in the UK, there’s a lot of confusion about what’s safe and what’s not. 

We know that wearing masks is the safe and responsible thing to do to prevent the spread of COVID-19, as the pandemic continues to be a life threatening issue to so many people in our community - particularly black and minority ethnic people, who are dying at much higher rates than their white counterparts in the US and UK. https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2020/jun/11/who-does-coronavirus-kill-in-england-and-wales-visualising-the-data

https://www.apmresearchlab.org/covid/deaths-by-race

Recent scientific studies and many countries, particularly in Asia where wearing face masks is not seen as taboo, have produced evidence that supports the wearing of masks by the general population to stop the spread of disease. Here's a study from the University of Cambridge that found:

The team investigated the varying effectiveness of facemasks. Previous research shows that even homemade masks made from cotton t-shirts or dishcloths can prove 90% effective at preventing transmission.
The study suggests that an entire population wearing masks of just 75% effectiveness can bring a very high 'R' number of 4.0 - the UK was close to this before lockdown - all the way down to under 1.0, even without aid of lockdowns.
In fact, masks that only capture a mere 50% of exhaled droplets would still provide a "population-level benefit", even if they quadrupled the wearer's own contamination risk through frequent face touching and mask adjustment (a highly unlikely scenario).

(read more from CNBC)

There’s a lot to say that mask wearing works, including this study, but one of my favorite anecdotes is this one from Missouri - 2 hair stylists with COVID exposed ~140 customers over 8 days, no one caught COVID and they all wore masks. 


So, put that mask on, be proud, and tell a friend. If you’re into sharing pics, join the #maskingforafriend movement.

July 1, 2020
Merici Vinton
Co-founder