‘Welcome Back, Stay Safe' – Launch of Sunny Dundee Face Coverings

As Dundee begins to welcome visitors and residents back to the city centre, retailers and businesses will be selling reusable Sunny Dundee face coverings.

The Sunny Dundee campaign by Dundee - One City, Many Discoveries originally saw thousands of pairs of #SunnyDundee sunglasses given to visitors, locals, and businesses.

Now, a city-wide partnership led by UNESCO City of Design Dundee and supported by Halley Stevensons, local makers, and One City, Many Discoveries has produced a unique Sunny Dundee face covering.

The production of the face coverings has been supported by pre-orders from dozens of city businesses. The face coverings will also be sold to the public for £6.

When a member of the public buys a face covering, they will be contributing to another mask being made. These ‘Pay It Forward’ masks will be distributed for free via local community groups and food banks.

The locally designed and produced face coverings will be available from locations across the city, including Quirky Coo, Dock Street Studios, Maisie & Mac, and Birchwood Café & Emporium.

Dundee Council Leader, John Alexander said: “We want to welcome people back to the the city, but in a safe way.

“Work has already taken place to prepare public areas for increasing numbers of people with signs and distinctive Sunny Dundee signage being deployed to encourage people to queue safely and follow one-way pedestrian flows.

“The Sunny Dundee Sunglasses were a huge hit with residents and visitors alike and I’m sure people will enjoy these Sunny Dundee face coverings.

 “I’m delighted that the design and production has been carried out locally, and I would like to thank Halley Stevensons and Pamela Scott for their help in creating the masks.”

Annie Marrs, UNESCO City of Design Dundee said, ‘We know that getting used to wearing a face covering is challenging for many people. Through this project we wanted to support the city and our communities to make wearing masks a little easier. We also wanted to find a way to support local makers, many of whom have lost income due to the global pandemic. This initiative is a great way of doing both!’

The Sunny Dundee illustration printed on the masks is by Pamela Scott, a Dundee illustrator and printmaker, and gives a nod to the original, hugely popular Sunny Dundee sunglasses.

Halley Stevensons, the world's leading waxed cotton fabric innovators, who partnered on the project not only provided the cotton fabric, but also shared their expertise to get the project off the ground.   

These face coverings support people to adhere to government advice of wearing a cloth face covering when physical distancing is difficult to maintain, and in places where they are mandatory - such as public transport. 

Sunny Dundee face coverings are not approved or regulated Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). They are a cloth face covering, made to a 3 fold pattern, with two-layers of quality cotton.  There is no opening to add a filter.