Anti-Pollution Mask Market: Breathe Safe
Modernization of societies across the globe is picking up pace. Fusion of cultures from the east and the west is creating societies which are more modern than they have ever been. Modernization is transforming people’s living style, and eating habits among many other aspects. As a matter of fact, growing urbanization across the globe is a result of people’s urge to live in a modern society. The figure given below shows the pace of urbanization on a global level:
Global Urban Population, % of Total Population
Source: The World Bank Group
Since modern societies are perceived to offer people better access to basic amenities and better prospects of both personal and professional growth, people from rural areas are drifting gradually towards urban areas, thus increasing the urban population. As urban population continues to increase, local governments and concerned authorities are pushed to increase the circulation of vehicles for public transport. As owning a vehicle is still perceived to be status symbol in many countries, people continue to pour money into buying vehicles. Increasing number of vehicles on road is driving with it the concentration of vehicular emissions in the environment, thus increasing the incidence of various diseases which are caused by breathing in polluted air.
Growing industrialization across the globe is also contributing significantly to the degrading quality of air in many countries. Solid growth of global manufacturing sector continues to add to the concentration of all air, water and land pollutants in the environment each year. The figure given below shows the growth of global manufacturing sector:
Global Manufacturing Sector, Value Added, in Current US$ Trillion
Source: The World Bank Group
One of the key manufacturing sectors which have been the major contributors to the global air pollution is the chemical manufacturing sector. As the demand for chemical products, from all sectors which use chemicals as raw materials in their manufacturing processes, continues to register a continuous growth, players across the chemical industry are being pushed to funnel more investments into various sectors. European Union, for instance, has been showing a robust growth in this sector over the past decade. According to a data from the European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC), the EU chemical sales witnessed an increase from €530 billion in 2008 to €565 billion in 2018. Over the same period, the total pumping of investments by the EU member countries into research and innovation showed an increase of more than 23% as the total value of investments rose from €8 billion in 2008 to around €10 billion in 2018. Not just this, capital spending in the EU’s chemical sector also remained strong between 2008 and 2018. The total capital spending by the European Union member states into chemical industry was around €21.3 billion in 2008 and this figure stood at around €22.8 billion in 2018. While this is just one example, many other countries across the globe are also showing an impressive performance in this sector. Other industries like pharmaceutical, oil and gas, mining, and construction to name a few have also been adding significantly to the global GDP. As production across these industries continues to increase, quality of air in many parts of the world is degrading. This is despite the enforcement of stringent regulations which require companies to get Environmental Impact Assessment done before starting a production facility and to ensure adherence to environmental laws throughout the life of the facility. As the quality of air continues to degrade, many people, who are aware of the harmful effects of air pollution on their health, are increasing the adoption of anti-pollution masks.
While this market continued to show a fairly modest growth for a long time, recent outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease has given a big boost to the market growth. According to a data from the World Health Organization, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, as of 11:06am CEST, 24 July 2020, stood at 15,012,731 while the total number of deaths worldwide stood at 619,150. As the number of new cases per day now stands near 247,225, fear of contracting the disease is increasing among people. What makes this even more dangerous is the fact that there is no cure to this disease and the lethality of the virus is fairly high. As this virus continues to mutate, its ability to get transmitted through air is increasing, thus mounting concerns among people. Increasing efforts by the governments to ensure that people do not step out of their houses without any anti-pollution mask, coupled with already high degree of fear among people, is spurring the sales of anti-pollution masks, and thus boosting the market growth. High ease of spreading of this virus has been pushing people associated with essential services, which include doctors, nurses, law enforcement personnel, janitors and others to wear certified masks for complete protection and change the mask after a specified duration of use. This is further fuelling the demand for anti-pollution masks, thus propelling the market growth.
Geographically, the report, titled Global Anti-Pollution Mask Market from Knowledge Sourcing Intelligence, has segmented the market into North America, South America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific. To give a clearer view of the market, these regional markets have been further segmented into countries which account for a significant market share. North America accounts for a significant share in this market and the market growth is being fuelled by increasing number of COVID-19 cases. The United States tops the list of countries with the highest number of cases and high degree of fear among people is increasing the sales of anti-pollution masks among them. Other regions also hold a significant share in this market.
About the Author:
Dhiraj Kumar Sharma is a Market Research Analyst at Knowledge Sourcing Intelligence. He combines his outright understanding of technologies with years of experience working in the industry to deliver actionable information to clients who span across industries and geographies. Dhiraj often works closely with clients in order to better understand their requirements and is known for the quality of market insights he delivers to them.
