A message about our cloth face masks from our Co-founder & CEO, Marc Katz
To all our cloth face mask customers, thank you for your business and trust. The face masks have started arriving to people, and while many are very happy with them, others expected thicker material, so I want to make sure we properly set your expectations in order to meet or exceed them.
These masks are simply single-ply cotton-blend jersey fabric (like most of our t-shirts) cleverly cut to fit around the ears and cover the face. They don’t look or feel substantial sitting in your hand, but the masks are comfortable, breathable, fairly durable, and compatible with the CDC’s guidance on “quick cut t-shirt” masks here as well as publicly available research summarized here. They do curl in the wash, but they fit fine once you put them on again.
We’re also able to source & distribute these in large quantities with minimal human touch to quickly and economically meet a huge & pressing public health need (which is about slowing the spread and preserving medical-grade masks for healthcare professionals). From what we can see, traditionally constructed masks are many times more expensive and may not be available for weeks.
As noted above, a number of customers have told us they expected thicker fabric, which has us looking at ways to optimize both the product info on our website as well as the mask material itself. I’m sorry for any confusion, and if the masks are not what you want or expected, please contact us so we can make it right. (Note: If your order hasn’t shipped yet, you may use the link in your confirmation email to cancel it.)
Meanwhile, many customers say the masks are working great for them for all the reasons I described above. We’ve been ramping up supply and will soon be delivering new orders within just 1-3 days. If you’d like to buy more, they remain for sale here.
Wishing you well in these challenging times,
-Marc
Lissa is the Site Content Specialist at Custom Ink. She hopes to create content that engages and inspires customers. Lissa loves to see ideas of hers brought to life by customer's orders!
I received my masks on 4-10-2020 only to have received 6 of the 12 masks I purchased. On 4 -11-2020 I called Custom Ink customer service twice 12 pm and 4 pm because the message stated someone would call me back within the hour….lies…I paid close to$40.00 for 6 masks??? False advertisement and completely unacceptable business. I will never recommend Custom Ink to anyone again
A physicians assistant told me you can also use 100% cotton or denim or duck cloth. Whatever that is. Lol
Hi, Minerva,
This is absolutely not the experience we want you to have with us. I’ve asked some from our satisfaction department to reach out to you at the email you provided with your blog comment. Please reach out to me directly at jeff.gregory@customink.com, if you do not hear from anyone by tomorrow morning. We’ll do everything within our power to make this right for you.
Apologies,
Jeff
What types of masks do you recommend for us to use ?
I don’t know how you sleep at night taking advantage of this situation. I wish I could post a picture of the scraps of cloth I received. They are not useable! I’ve requested a refund and contacted my credit card to dispute the charges. You need to do better.
Hi Jackie, we really appreciate your patience during this time. We are working as quickly as possible to get through all emails that are being sent our way in the order that they’re received. Thank you for understanding.
DON,T order this garbage or buy into their lies. This company is just taking advantage of tons of helpless fellow Americans to make $$$. If there is a dollar’s worth of material and work in the twelve pack it’s a lot and they then are making $29. on each sale – talk about mark up. The CDC recommends 100% cotton and this material is a jersey blend – NOT cotton. It will not protect anything except their profit line.
Hi Kathy-Ann, we are so sorry to hear the masks aren’t what you expected and we’d love the chance to make it right! I’ve passed your email address along to our service team to reach out directly, but if you’d like to share your order or phone number with me directly, please send it to lissa.eckert@customink.com and I’ll send that to them as well.
You need to stop selling these before they sink your company if they haven’t already. I received mine today and extremely disappointed in them. I’ve already sent an email expressing my concerns, but since you are so backed up on emails decided to write here. If I had taken the time to read facebook I would not have wasted $30 so that’s on me but you know the complaints and yet you still take orders instead of stopping and reassessing what you sell. Shameful!
Hi Victoria, we really appreciate your patience during this time. We are working as quickly as possible to get through all emails that are being sent our way in the order that they’re received. Thank you for understanding.
It is shameful you continue to sell these “masks” in the wake of the massive outpouring of online complaints. I ordered based on prior good experience ordering tshirts. The fact the CEO has been forced to defend a subpar product speaks volumes. I have requested a refund…I am a cancer patient and I would not donate your masks to anyone.
Hi KM, thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate your patience during this time as we’re working as quickly as possible to get through the emails that are being sent our way. Thank you for understanding—we look forward to being able to make this right for you.
These are flimsy pieces of cloth and do not have double layers of fabric as recommended by the CDC (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html). Yes, you note that in your product page, but I’d expect better of a company like Custom Ink. I should’ve done more work and read the complaints, but I trusted Custom Ink from prior experience and also wanted something quickly.
Hi there, we are so sorry the masks weren’t what you expected, and we’d love the chance to make it right. Please give us a call or email at http://www.customink.com/contact, or feel free to email me directly at lissa.eckert@customink.com with your contact information.
I like the masks but have two questions:
1. Is it necessary to wash them before first use?
2. What are your recommended washing instructions?
Hi Harold! We’re glad you like the masks! You don’t need to wash the masks before wearing them for the first time, but you should always wash them before using a second time. As far as washing goes, you can machine wash on warm with like colors and tumble drive. They may roll up some when they’ve dried but will fit as usual after washing.
I previously sent you a email about the ripoff on the face masks and got no reply. Guess my opinion of your company is worth sharing with my friends and social groups.
Hey Clarence! We’re so sorry to hear you weren’t happy with the masks and would love the opportunity to make it right. Would you mind sending me an email to lissa.eckert@customink.com with your order number or email address associated with the order? I’ll pass it along to our sales team for help right away.
What is the paper that is to be inserted between the two layers of cloth? How do you launder the masks. Very poor direction that come with masks.
Hi Margaret! We’d love to help! It sounds like you’ve already ordered and received your masks. Would you mind sharing what mask you ordered?
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