Houston fitness apparel company shifts gears to make face masks

HOUSTON, TX (KTRK) -- Across the country, hospitals are in desperate need of personal protective equipment. Now, a Houston fitness apparel company is stepping up, adapting its idea for anti-bacterial, anti-stink workout wear to create face masks.

Accel Lifestyle is producing thousands of masks for health care workers across the country using its exclusive Prema Fabric, which has anti-microbial properties.

After the COVID-19 pandemic began and many hospitals began running out of masks, Accel CEO Megan Eddings wanted to do something to help.

"My team and I hopped on a call immediately and thought, okay, how can we take this anti-bacterial Prema Fabric that we have and turn it into face masks immediately?" said Eddings. "Literally within 24 hours we had a local supply chain team here in Houston of 40 sewers. We ordered 50,000 yards of elastic and we've already started production."

Just last week, Houston Methodist ordered 9,000 Prema Anti-Bacterial Face Masks. Although Accel's masks are not N95 masks, they can provide some level of protection and the Prema Fabric is popular among cancer patients and those with compromised immune systems.

"To the people that are actually wearing our Prema anti-bacteria masks, I want you to know that love went into every stitch, every fiber," said Eddings. "It was 100% made here in Houston, Texas, and our team is sending you blessings and a lot of love and we're happy to help."

Accel Lifestyle is now shipping the masks to health care workers across the country. They are also available to the public. For more information, visit accellifestyle.com.