What you need to know about Micro Waste and how to prevent it
Let's talk about microplastics! You probably have some clothes in your closet that cause Mirco Waste. What is Micro Waste and what are Micro Plastics? What are the consequences and above all, what can you do about it? Read it here and take action!
What are microplastics?
Microplastics are microscopically small pieces of plastic. They are formed when plastic breaks down into smaller and smaller particles.The plastic soup, or floating rubbish dump, floating in the Pacific Ocean is a major cause of microplastics in seawater. Unfortunately, the floating rubbish dump is not the only cause of microplastics in the sea. Anoften forgotten, equally important cause is our waste water. Microplastics are found in every synthetic garment and come loose during washing. These dislodged synthetic fibres go to the water treatment plant with the wastewater from your washing machine. Unfortunately, these microplastics are so small that they cannot be filtered out of the water by the treatment plant and therefore end up in seawater.
How do microplastics spread from clothing to the food chain?
Once in the seawater, the microplastics are consumed by everything that lives in the seawater. Because the plastics cannot be broken down, they accumulate in fish, oysters and mussels, among other things, which we then consume. In this way, the particles circulate through our food chain. Microplastics have been found in honey, water, salt and beer, among other things.
Why are microplastics in the food chain a problem?
Microplastics contribute to the pollution of seawater and invade organisms that live in the sea. This in itself is bad news as plastic does not occur in nature and therefore does not belong here. The ingestion of microscopic pieces of polystyrene by oysters has been shown to alter food intake and disrupt reproduction. Unlike microplastics in the sea, the effects of microplastics in the human body have not yet been sufficiently researched. This is because we only discovered this a short time ago. However, scientists do agree that the accumulation of microplastics in the human body is not desirable and strongly recommend reducing the use of plastic in general.
What can you do against microplastics ?
Het Duitse merk Langbrett heeft hier een slimme oplossing bedacht om de verspreiding van microplastics via onze wasmachine tegen te gaan. De GuppyFriend: een waszak, een soort grotere versie van het BH zakje, waarmee je 99% van de losgelaten plastic vezels uit je kleding tegen houdt en voorkomt dat ze in het water terecht komen. Na de wasbeurt gooi je de vrijgekomen vezels, pluisjes, weg bij het restafval. De GuppyFriend is getest op kwaliteit, duurzaamheid en werkzaamheid en het resultaat is een lang meegaand, plastic-vrij product dat kleine deeltjes binnenhoudt.
Ons advies? Bekijk het materiaal waarvan een kledingstuk gemaakt is voordat je het koopt. Bijvoorbeeld regen- en sportkleding is vaak gemaakt van synthetisch materiaal zoals polyester. Een alternatief voor nieuw polyester is gerecyceld polyester (bijv. RPET van gerecycelde PET-flessen) zoals je vind in onze regenjassen van Insane in the Rain, yoga leggings van Mandala en panty's van Swedish Stockings.
The clothes you have made of nylon, fleece, polyester, acrylic or other synthetic materials are best washed in the GuppyFriend laundry bag: small effort, big result!
Watch the 'How-to-use' video below for optimal use of the GuppyFriend!
Order your GuppyFriend at Sophie Stone!