Laundry & microfibres

You’ve heard about microfibres, right? Those tiny pieces of plastic, less than 5mm long, that seem to be a hot topic right now? Well, unfortunately, they’re getting EVERYWHERE, and the ones often found in our clothes are being shed into the water system every time you do a wash. They eventually end up in the seas and rivers, harming aquatic life, and now there’s some more alarming news.

The results of a study looking at microfibres in humans was published in October 2018 and has found the problem is more serious than originally thought. Participants showed up to 9 different plastics in their poo. More on that here.

Our bodies are collecting these microfibres from various places - beauty products, plastic food packaging, water bottles, as well as from our laundry. 

The main fabric culprits are polyester and acrylic (including when blended with cotton or other materials). So it’s worth thinking about this when you buy your next piece of clothing. But, you don’t need to throw all your polyester garbs into landfill just yet. 

THERE IS A SOLUTION!

The Guppy Bag is here! Put your polyesters into this genius little bag when you launder your clothes, and it will stop those pesky fibres from entering the water system. Find out more and buy one for yourself here.

The Cora Ball is also here! Chuck this baby into your machine and it guarantees to catch one third of the microfibres released into your machine.

DID YOU KNOW…
In 2016, the BBC reported that on average UK washing load - 6kg (13lb) of fabric - can release:

• 140,000 fibres from polyester-cotton blend

• nearly half a million fibres from polyester

• more than 700,000 fibres from acrylic

Gulp.