Has anyone considered reusable PPE?

I am old enough to remember when surgical gowns were made of cotton. They were specially washed them sealed and opened when needed. Same for surgical instruments. Same for many of the things that are now made out paper/plastic and cheap metal. And this was in the operating room where materials must be absolutely sterile.

When dealing with COVID, the barrier function is most important. And then you need to be able to decontaminate the PPE so it can be used again.

Why not have cotton gowns? What about face masks made of something besides paper? What about face shields with scratch resistant/shatter resistant glass? Have you seen how quickly the trash bag fills up in just one COVID room? Health care personal entering and then leaving, even if only for a moment, must shed their gear. There are not enough trees in Southeast Asian and the Amazon to make enough gowns for everyone in the world who will eventually get this infection.