Amazon will start producing and selling its own face shields

Amazon will start mass-producing and selling  its own face shields in the coming weeks, according to a statement by the retail giant.

The 20,000 face shields will be limited to frontline workers during the initial launch and more will later be available to the public through Amazon.com.

The masks will cost one-third of the price of what is currently available on the website, Amazon said.

The retail giant is providing these face shields at-cost to help reach as many frontline workers nationwide as possible, said the company.

“We repurposed our manufacturing facilities and are working with outside vendors to produce these new face shields quickly,” said Brad Porter, a distinguished engineer and vice president of Amazon Robotics, in a statement.

Engineers from Amazon’s drone team and hardware teams initially started developing these masks in March, which lead to over 10,000 face shield donations to medical and frontline workers. The masks are made using both 3D printing and injection molding.

Around the world, mask shortages have led people to makeshift protective gear solutions and private citizens are sewing masks themselves to donate to local hospitals as a makeshift solution so workers don’t have to tie bandannas around their faces.

Amazon has seen a spike in overall demand for its services as people stay at home due to coronavirus and have more necessities delivered. A recent projection shows Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos could reach trillionaire status by 2026.