141: Air Quality & Revolutionizing Personal Air Pollution Filters with Resprana CEO Sophie Frank

Resprana CEO Sophie Frank on how they're revolutionizing personal air filtration and changing the way the world breathes with a new approach to fighting air pollution. 

With their innovative design on wearable air filters (WAF), Resprana seeks to offer all the protection of a mask (if not more) - without the mask.

Air pollution kills 7 million people every year - including 2 people every minute in India alone. When the Air Quality Index (AQI) was created, the scale was 0-500. Cities like Beijing, China and Delhi, India routinely measure AQI's at 700 to 1,000 - well above the top end of that scale.

As I write this, the current AQI in Mexico City is 868 and the prevalence of yellow (moderate), orange (unhealthy) and red (hazardous) AQI's around the world is alarming. (Find a link to this real-time AQI map on the blog post.)

As you'll hear from Resprana CEO Sophie Frank, air pollution is something we should all pay more attention to. "We're not opting into this behavior, it's presented to us because of the world's situation."

• 7 million die a year from effects of air pollution; 2 people every minute
• Environment matters
• City wide pollution
• It's not just urban areas - forest fires, earthquakes, and volcanoes affect air quality
• Spending one day on New Delhi same as smoking 2 packs of cigarettes
• When does Sophie wear protection herself in certain cities, and how does she decide?
• Correlation of exposure to pollution to cancer?
• Resprana next fashion accessory, while decreasing exposure to pollution
• Serve the need of the larger populations and increasing distribution through strategic partnerships with the corporate and hotel industries
• Using 3D printers to better the distribution
• Phase 2: Customizing and enhancing product as piece of jewelry - something users are proud to wear
• Get Sophie's Top 3 Tips to #LiveOptimal