July 09, 2021

LAUNDRY : MICROPLASTIC RELEASE, HOW TO MINIMIZE YOUR IMPACT?

N.B : This post is not sponsored by any brand, organization or any entities.

Yes, you read it well in the title. Microplastic are getting released in the water, in nature, in the ocean.

Every time you’re doing the laundry…

I mean, it’s not only you, it’s all of us.

Actually, according to the majority of studies, up to 35% of the microplastic in our ocean comes from our washing machine.

This time we’re not talking about any harmful detergent (you can read the full article on it here), we’re focusing on microplastic release and how to actually reduce our impact.

First let’s start with some facts.

60% of our clothes are made out of Nylon, Polyester, acrylic and synthetic fiber. For some clothes we can simply avoid this component, but for others like tights, technical clothes, winter clothes it’s impossible.

We’ll not recommend ditching all of them, nothing worse than sending all your closet into the trash.

What you can do is to wash them smartly.

All our clothes shed fibres when they are washed, regardless of the material they are made from.

Globally, it amounts to about 500,000 tonnes per annum - this is equivalent to every single person on the planet throwing 15 plastic shopping bags directly into the sea, every year.

So here are the simple actions you can take to reduce your impact by 80-90%.

Get a microplastic filter

When you can’t avoid the acrylic, recycled options are your best option.

Yes, this is what we do, we recycle everything!

Brace yourself, our recycling program is coming.

Then you have two options, the best is to accumulate both of them. Our friends at Guppyfriend created a washing bag with a special fiber that keeps 86% of the fibers inside.

The 2nd, you can install a filter in your washing machine, a slovakian startup Planet Care, created the most performing filter.

Pick cooler and faster cycle

A recent study shows that you can reduce the fiber shed by 30%, by washing it at 15C for 30min instead of the classical 85min at 40C cycle.

Load you machine

Less space means less friction. Less friction means less sheds. Less sheds means less microplastic in the ocean.

So load your machine to reduce the space.

Not only you’ll reduce the fiction, but you’ll also save water and energy.

Wash less

Yes, you read properly. All the studies point to the fact that we’re uselessly washing our clothes way too much.

Wash only when it’s necessary.

- A bra can be worn 4 times

- A top 5 to 6 times

- No limite for jeans

And yes you still need to wash your panties every time this one doesn’t change.

For tight you can wash them after 2-3 wears. They will last longer, this way.

Last but not least, don’t tumble dry

The mechanical forces inside a tumble dryer are one of the major culprits of microplastic pollution. Synthetic clothes dry super-fast anyway, so air-dry your clothes instead. If you have to use a dryer, please make sure to filter the condensed water.

If you want to go a step further :

Plastic pollution coalition : https://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/

Plastic Ocean : https://plasticoceans.org/

Plastic Soup : https://www.plasticsoupfoundation.org/en/

Sources :