“Even without any clear end of the coronavirus in sight, demand for fabric face masks is already beginning to subside.”

Illustration: Bráulio Amado

Last fall, Adam Bluestein wrote about how a broad swath of retailers gave themselves an unexpected revenue lifeline by plunging into face mask production in the wake of a severe N95 mask shortage. Gap sold 3 million fabric masks in May alone while online crafts marketplace Etsy sold over…