--- title: "This $350 Breathing Mask Is Cashing in on Climate Change" description: "Startup Ao Air has announced a $350 face mask called the Atmos Faceware, a gadget that promises to protect its wearer against dangerous air pollution." date: "2020-01-08" modified: "2020-01-08" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/air-pollution-expensive-face-mask" categories: - "Climate Change" - "Environment" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "air pollution" - "climate change" - "the digest" --- # This $350 Breathing Mask Is Cashing in on Climate Change ![Startup Ao Air has announced a $350 face mask called the Atmos Faceware, a gadget that promises to protect its wearer against dangerous air pollution.]() *\Image: Courtesy of Ao Air\* ## Breathe In Startup Ao Air has [announced]() a $350 air purification mask called the Atmos Faceware, an air-filtering gadget designed to protect its wearer against air pollution, including smoke from wildfires. In other words, [*The Verge* argues](), it's an attempt to cash in on climate change. While it makes sense to debut a gadget at the Consumer Electronics Show, Australia's unprecedented bushfires are dominating the rest of the news cycle — more than [20 people]() and almost [half a billion]() animals have lost their lives already. ## Feel the Burn The mostly transparent mask only makes contact with the bridge of your nose and the back of your head. It doesn't actually require full contact or a full seal — it creates a pocket of clean air in front of it that you can breathe. ## Expensive Air The company has yet to prove that the mask's air filters are actually more protective than a standard air filter mask certified by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The company did commission its own study — which has yet to be published or peer reviewed, *The Verge* points out. "It's 50 times better \[than a regular mask\]," Ao Air's head of US Mikal Peveto [told *Engadget*](). And then there's the cost. A mask with four extra filters will put you back $350 — and you can get a pack of 20 disposable, NIOSH-certified masks for just [$14]() on Amazon. **READ MORE:** [Atmos Faceware makes clean air an expensive accessory]() \[*The Verge*\] **More on air pollution:** *[As Air Pollution Spikes, Indian “Bars” Sell Clean Oxygen]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()