As cases of COVID-19 continue to proliferate, professional sports teams and popular musical acts have begun selling branded face masks.

While not medical grade, the fabric face coverings aim to serve as another layer of protection against viral spread and are often tied to charitable initiatives. Demand for masks has soared, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention saying wearing face coverings in public could help check the spread of novel coronavirus infections.

NBA face mask

In partnership with merchandiser Fanatics, the National Basketball Association and Women’s National Basketball Association have debuted face masks emblazoned with the logos of the NBA’s 30 teams and WNBA’s 12 teams. Manufactured by FOCO and Industry Rag, masks that feature each league’s logo are also on sale at NBAStore.com and WNBAStore.com.

NBA Face Coverings now available. All NBA proceeds from the sale of licensed face coverings will be donated to @FeedingAmerica and @SecondHarvestCA.

NBA Store: https://t.co/1E0yzxDaDM
WNBA Store: https://t.co/sDECwbZV9d pic.twitter.com/3VLPAWPR3W

— NBA Store (@NBASTORE) April 17, 2020

Sales of the masks will benefit Feeding America in the United States and Second Harvest in Canada. Both are nonprofits that provide food to people in need. The support is sorely needed, food bank leaders say.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has upended food bank operations, causing shifts in distribution models and volunteer opportunities,” said Katie Fitzgerald, executive vice president and chief operating officer at Feeding America. “We are grateful to the NBA, WNBA and Fanatics for this partnership that will support food banks with funds but also with much-needed face coverings to keep their staff, volunteers and neighbors in need safe.”

Face coverings from the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers.

The FOCO masks will sell in three-packs for $24.99. Industry Rag’s masks are individually packaged and sell for $14.99. Industry Rag will donate one face covering for every one purchased to Feeding America and Second Harvest, WWD reported. FOCO will make additional donations to support the nonprofits, while select NBA and WNBA teams will donate 100% of the proceeds from team e-commerce site sales to benefit the nonprofits’ affiliate food banks in their cities.

Meanwhile, musical acts have also been busy creating and selling face coverings in support of the fight against COVID-19. Tony Holiday, president of Kt8 Merchandise Company, a Toronto-based promo firm that works with clients in the music industry, told Billboard that “30% to 40%  of our (musical) artists are making face masks now.” Kt8 has been selling about 500 masks a week – well above the normal tally, according to Holiday. Kt8 told Billboard it has been donating a portion of proceeds from face mask sales to hospitals and charities.

“Some people might feel like it’s weird to make money off of this,” Holiday told Billboard. “But at the end of the day, people want to not walk around feeling contaminated. If wearing masks becomes a regular part of daily life, having it associated with something you enjoy might make it more appealing.”

Back in early March, rockers Korn were among the first musical acts to undertake mask sales with a charitable aim. The band’s branded face coverings quickly sold out, but are set to be restocked in May and can be pre-ordered now. For every mask sold, all of Korn’s profits will go to Global Giving’s COVID-19 Relief Fund, which is providing assistance to vulnerable communities on the front lines of the crisis.

Profits from sales of the Korn mask will benefit Global Giving’s COVID-19 Relief Fund.

Emo band My Chemical Romance was also selling fabric masks, with proceeds going to the MusiCares Covid-19 Relief Fund. In a twist, the band had actually made the masks prior to the pandemic.

My Chemical Romance masks

“These masks were the brainchild of our beloved Lauren Valencia, who died before this madness, not of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the older evil that is cancer,” My Chemical Romance said on its website. “We had these masks made to keep you dust-free in the desert, a show that never happened, never will, a protection that then seemed timeworn. And here we are, with these masks, as though Lauren was prescient or we were unknowingly waiting for the right time.”

Elsewhere, post-hardcore band Thursday took a stockpile of branded T-shirts it had intended to sell on tour (canceled because of COVID) and had them repurposed into face masks, Pitchfork reported. The band donated the shirts to sewing collectives like SewYouCare and FaceMask Warriors. Thursday also sold its own Thursday-logoed face coverings. All profits from the Thursday-branded mask sales go to hospitals in the New York/New Jersey area.

Thursday face mask