Face coverings have gradually been adopted as a very necessary garment during the global pandemic, and residents have upped their mask games by hitting up dedicated vending machines, learning to make their own at home, or visiting local businesses to stock up on a variety of patterned pieces to go with any outfit.

There are now all types of different masks to choose from, from the regular fabric kind to those made just for people with beards, clear masks to help with lip reading, masks made from snorkels and now, a mask you can drink in without having to remove it or even fiddle with it at all.

The Sippo mask is a new idea from Toronto integrated-experience agency T1, and has the key selling feature of a self-sealing hole that wearers can slip a straw through.

Anyone who has walked into a store with a coffee or other beverage they've just purchased and soon realized they couldn't sip while they shoped will likely find the concept pretty convenient.

"We came to realize that mask-wearing would become a part of everyday life for an increasing number of people. There was an opportunity to design a mask that allowed people to go about their daily lives with more comfort and convenience than a typical mask," says T1 Senior Producer Pothik Karim.

Karim says that preliminary work on the product started in the spring, before face coverings became mandatory in the city's and then the province's indoor public settings.

"The self-sealing straw-access should make mask-wearing more comfortable for more people in more places, especially for frontline, service industry, or grocery workers who need to wear their masks for extended periods of time — they can now have a drink without touching or removing their mask."

The $19.99 non-medical grade washable fabric mask has a metal eyelet in the perfect diameter for a [preferably reusable] drinking straw, which can be pushed in past a silicone barrier that seals tightly back up after the straw is removed.

Pre-orders for the $19.99 garment, which comes in a number of sizes and is manufactured in Canada, started at the end of last month and so far the response has been strong, with the first production run nearly sold out.

"Having a drink is such a basic part of someone's day, but since you can't drink while wearing a typical mask, that simple, ubiquitous behaviour would require you to remove your mask," Karim points out.

"This can increase risks, or it may discourage some people from wearing a mask at all."

Hopefully with more options like the Sippo, mask-wearing can continue to become progressively easier and more appealing for everyone to incorporate comfortably into their everyday life.