How to Reduce Microplastics Pollution In Your Laundry

Natsuki Oura
Sep 20, 2022
2 min read

Fine plastic fibres in everyday clothes are part of the pollution as they are washed into the water each time during laundering.

The best way is to choose clothes that do not contain such fibres, but the problem is that by throwing away your clothes you are part of the mass waste of clothes.

The solution to the various problems created by fashion that has become too fast is to wear something for a long time while carefully caring for it, which is what humans originally did. This is also called slow fashion as opposed to fast fashion.

In this article, we will show you how to reduce microplastics by taking care of your clothes in a way that you can do on a daily basis to make them last longer.・

Two of the easiest products being developed to reduce microfibre run-off from washing clothes containing synthetic fibres are the Guppyfriend laundry net and the Cola ball laundry ball.

Guppy Friend washing bag

Guppyfriend is a washing net made of monofilament fabric like fishing line, the material is polyester but there are no loose fibres and the fine mesh can catch microfibres. The material is untreated, undyed and additive-free.

On durability and effectiveness.

Guppyfriend states that tests have shown that it can withstand 50 washes without damage and does not release plastic particles from the product itself into the water.

The results of the tests are also available on the website.

While protecting the clothes, the fallen fibres are held in the laundry net and can be removed and discarded after washing.

Cora Ball

Cora Ball is a washing ball made from recycled plastic.

It is inspired by the structure of corals that filter water, with multiple layers of inner stalks and spines that catch microfibres.

Tests have verified that it can reduce the amount of microfibres discharged from washing machines by approximately 30%.

Other way

Two products have been introduced above, but there are other easy ways to do this.

They are.

Doing laundry at low temperatures, and

Not to over-wash things that can be spot-cleaned.

It is recommended to wash at temperatures below 30°C, as hotter temperatures are harder on the clothes and increase fibre breakdown and microfibre loss.

It is also important not to over-wash clothes that can be worn without washing every time, as recommended by Patagonia, a company that sells many synthetic fibres such as fleece, for spot cleaning.

Reducing the number of washes also means reducing the load on the clothes.

Brushing clothes and using deodorant sprays are recommended to take care of them.

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