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Fashionable facewear: Swedish start-up helps urbanites breathe easy

Updated 1315 GMT (2115 HKT) December 21, 2016

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A group of Swedish entrepreneurs have created a new air pollution mask which they say is both functional and fashionable.
Photos: Pollution solution?
A group of Swedish entrepreneurs have created a new air pollution mask which they say is both functional and fashionable.
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Stockholm-based Airinum say their mask offers a new solution to air pollution.
Photos: Pollution solution?
Stockholm-based Airinum say their mask offers a new solution to air pollution.
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The mask, which includes an adjustable head strap and two removable filters, retails for $75 for adults, $65 for kids. Each filter is good for around 100 hours of use, Airinum estimates, and can trap particles as small as 0.03 micrometers in diameter using a three-layer filter. The masks comply with the<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/topics/respirators/disp_part/default.html" target="_blank"> N99 standard </a>(filtering 99% of airborne particles)set by the United States' National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
Photos: Pollution solution?
The mask, which includes an adjustable head strap and two removable filters, retails for $75 for adults, $65 for kids. Each filter is good for around 100 hours of use, Airinum estimates, and can trap particles as small as 0.03 micrometers in diameter using a three-layer filter. The masks comply with the N99 standard (filtering 99% of airborne particles)set by the United States' National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
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The idea for the mask came from Airinum's co-founder Alexander Hjertström whose childhood asthma returned when he went to study for an MBA in Ahmadabad. <br /><br />In this picture taken in Delhi, air pollution provides the backdrop for a game of street cricket. The World Health Organization rates the Indian capital's air pollution at more than 12 times the safe limits.
Photos: Pollution solution?
The idea for the mask came from Airinum's co-founder Alexander Hjertström whose childhood asthma returned when he went to study for an MBA in Ahmadabad.

In this picture taken in Delhi, air pollution provides the backdrop for a game of street cricket. The World Health Organization rates the Indian capital's air pollution at more than 12 times the safe limits.
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Hjertström was struck by the amount of air pollution and how protection like scarves and surgical masks were largely ineffective.
Photos: Pollution solution?
Hjertström was struck by the amount of air pollution and how protection like scarves and surgical masks were largely ineffective.
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Shanghai residents wear masks to protect themselves from air pollution earlier this month. Asia and particularly parts of China suffer from bouts of extreme air pollution.
Photos: Pollution solution?
Shanghai residents wear masks to protect themselves from air pollution earlier this month. Asia and particularly parts of China suffer from bouts of extreme air pollution.
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The World Health Organization estimates that annual pollution levels in the capital, Beijing (pictured) are more than eight times the safe level.
Photos: Pollution solution?
The World Health Organization estimates that annual pollution levels in the capital, Beijing (pictured) are more than eight times the safe level.
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Airinum hope to encourage more people to wear masks by making them function better without compromising on looks.
Photos: Pollution solution?
Airinum hope to encourage more people to wear masks by making them function better without compromising on looks.
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