Weaving a better gas mask

This product predates the COVID-19 global pandemic and really went into high gear in the spring of 2020. Originally a product experiment to combine a gas mask with a scarf to see if we could get American audiences to wear protective gear. And so fashion forward filter-ware was born. 

Services

  • Product design

  • Design research

  • UX design

  • Brand design

Contributors

  • Andrew Kessler

  • Patrick Johnson

Our modern time faces twin threats for the average city dweller, contagion and pollution. Contagious disease is now front of mind with COVID changing all of our lives. But even when we were required to commute on crowded buses and trains we often saw the sniffling, squeezing of others and wished we could have an easy layer of protection. Pollution is on the rise and urban environments are the epicenter for toxic air. Most people think industrial air pollution isn’t an issue in the city, images of factory towns and waste sites come to mind. But Megacities are uniquely capable of creating and trapping air pollutants like airborne particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, and soot.

For decades now people of all walks of life living in Asia have worn surgical style face masks with nary a second glance. But in The West these masks had signaled threat of disease or mistrust of others. In short, a badge of mistrust. We wanted to change that. We wanted to create a product that was more about giving the user power. Power to protect themselves while being themselves. With the changing facial covering landscape brought on by COVID-19, North Americans are more comfortable wearing masks in their daily lives. But many of these masks are either a generic minimum for protection OR over-styled subpar protection. Scough remains the only filter-ware product that offers a holistic approach to living a protected and active lifestyle.

 

Design a filter that fits your life 

We developed a solid-state flexible filter construction that lab tested equal to N95 face masks. This filter platform uses active carbon and non-woven fabric to deliver germ, chemical, and pollutant protection. This little powerhouse tucks discreetly into any number of garments, scarf, bandana, neck warmer, infinity wraps. By centering the protection on a high performance filter insert we offer a subscription program that gives users renewed protection each month. The “filter on board” allows wearers to accessorize their garments while staying confident that they are using a capable filter. 

If it ain’t comfortable it wont get on your face

Listening to users always unlocks insight

Early studies showed that best results came from easy operation, and frankly most people don't think about operating their scarves. I identified no less than 4 common wearing styles all or which resulted in different orientation and alignment to the users airways. We took in loads of user feedback from our incredible early adopter community and It was clear that the product needed to accomplish a few basic wearability standards. 

  1. The filter has to easily land centered on the users nose and mouth. 

  2. Garment needed to stay near the bridge of the nose without constant adjustments during activities

  3. Easy up and down action was important for users to feel that the filter was ready when they needed it. 

Inspiration from the streets of NY

Scough is a Brooklyn based company, the idea came from riding bikes in traffic and living in forgotten corners of old industrial New York. So it's fitting that the solutions would come from the same mix of life that is the city. On the train one day cutting through south Brooklyn I found myself on a train full of Muslim American riders. Mostly families of women and their elementary aged children. Taking in the rich textiles the women and children used to cover their hair and faces, it struck me. The burka and hijab have been dealing with the same issues of fit, comfort, and construction I was taking with at that very moment. What Muslim women were wearing for adherence to their faith I could repurpose to achieve filter orientation, easy of operations, and flexibility across garment types. 

I retooled the scough scarf to include an elastic strap that lay across the back of the neck to keep the filter aligned with the user’s air passages no matter what type of wrapping style they preferred. The stretch in the neck strap also allowed for all day wearing and easy up and down action. 

A brand to empower & defend

 

Direct-to-consumer is a content + sales game

The goal is to have a site that sells and builds a brand. Baked into the idea for the commerce site was to have content about the core issues that affect our breathing. The site content drives users to understand the product, its key differentiators, lifestyle pieces and thus drive a sales motions. The continued engagement encouraged the audience to get involved with the political, corporate, and health events of the day that cause us to need this product in the first place.

 

Breath in the results

Scough is a labor of love that is making a real difference in thousands of peoples lives.

#1 scarf on Amazon.com for 2 years running

Press love what Scough has built.

“If you love people but not their germs or pollutions, Scough is for you. Scough is made by hypochondriac for the style conscious.”

“Results: you stay healthy and look pretty hot, if you don’t mind us saying. (But hot in the metaphorical, sexy sense")”

“Scough is literally the Style we’ve been waiting for, and a perfect assessory to check out.”