Face Coverings to become compulsory in England’s shops from 24th July

It has been announced that wearing a face-covering in shops and supermarkets in England is to become mandatory from 24th July. Those who fail to comply with the rules will face fines of up to £100. This decision will mean England follows the same rules as Scotland, Spain, Italy and Germany, who have all already made the wearing of face coverings in shops mandatory. The public has been advised since May to wear face coverings in places where it’s not possible to social distance, and since 15th June it has been compulsory to wear them on all forms of public transport. This new rule however does not apply to retail staff. The delay between today’s announcement and the new law coming into play on 24th is to allow people time to prepare, however, people are expected to comply before it becomes mandatory. Wearing face coverings will not be mandatory in pubs, cafes or restaurants however as this would not work.

Environment secretary George Eustice has said, “Any type of covering will be sufficient for this purpose.” This means that it is not required to wear a medical-grade surgical mask, and instead homemade or reusable face coverings are just as good and are better for the Environment. Our range of sustainably and ethically manufactured face coverings are washable, reusable, breathable, and feature designs from 6 incredible British designers. To see the collection or to find out more about reusable face coverings, visit https://bagsofethics.org/.