30,000 Whitecaps masks sold already to help save Vancouver Aquarium

Non-medical face masks have been flying off of virtual shelves since the Vancouver Whitecaps announced a partnership with the Vancouver Aquarium on Friday.

The Whitecaps teamed up with the beloved city landmark, which is in danger of permanent closure.

• See also:
  • Whitecaps selling face masks to help save the Vancouver Aquarium
  • Vancouver Aquarium at risk of bankruptcy and permanent closure
  • $600,000 in public donations given to Vancouver Aquarium in one week

A Whitecaps spokesperson told Daily Hive that 7,500 masks were sold by 5 pm on Friday, and by Saturday morning, a whopping 25,000 had been purchased. As of 1:30 pm on Saturday, 30,000 have now been purchased — that’s more than 1,000 bought per hour.

With masks ranging in price from $17.99 to $19.99, that’s over half a million dollars spent on masks in just over 24 hours. The Whitecaps tell Daily Hive that the demand has allowed the mask manufacturer, Mark Trotzuk from Boardroom Eco Apparel, to keep his staff, while some of his suppliers are actually bringing staff back to work.

The demand for these “high-performance athletic face masks” was so high, that it briefly overwhelmed the Aquarium’s e-commerce system.

Technical difficulties, please stand by!
We are overwhelmed by the generous orders that are coming in for the @WhitecapsFC masks 💙—and so is our e-commerce system.

We are working on the issue and should have things back up and running shortly. Thank you for your patience! pic.twitter.com/14g3WiJEWi

— Vancouver Aquarium (@vanaqua) April 25, 2020

BROKE THE INTERNET, THEN FIXED IT.

Thank you for your support AND patience, Vancouver 💙 Buy your facemask now and #SaveVancouverAquarium

➡️ https://t.co/BOauKIEL8p #ItTakesAVillage pic.twitter.com/jLJCpjA6rV

— Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) April 25, 2020

“We’re blown away,” the Vancouver Aquarium announced via its Twitter account. “A massive thank you to the [Vancouver Whitecaps] and our collective community. Since the launch of these masks yesterday in support of #SaveVancouverAquarium, over 25,000 have been sold!”

The Vancouver Aquarium website is back up and running, with masks available for purchase in four different styles.