Guppyfriend - STOP! Micro Plastic Waste
MICROPLASTICS
~ small plastic pieces less than five millimeters long that can be harmful to our ocean and aquatic life.
Micro Plastics & Their Impact on the Environment.
One step at a time, we’re reducing our footprint to live and breathe a sustainable future of fashion.
Welcome to our latest sustainability story about the everlasting impact of micro plastics on our kind earth,
and let us introduce you to your new best friend – the Guppy Bag.
Micro plastics are teeny tiny toxic particles that infest the environment around us, they are in our aquatic systems, our soil and our air.
Micro plastics are teeny tiny toxic particles that infest the environment around us, they are in our aquatic systems, our soil and our air.
We’re quite literally living and breathing micro plastics. And where do these micro plastics come from? Majority are released from everyday textiles.
Synthetic textiles such as nylon, polyester and acrylic account for 35% of all micro plastics and are the main sources of micro plastic pollution (STOP! Micro Waste, 2019).
Synthetic textiles such as nylon, polyester and acrylic account for 35% of all micro plastics and are the main sources of micro plastic pollution (STOP! Micro Waste, 2019).
These fibres are most commonly released into our waterways with every wash.
And yes – are alarmingly ingested by our marine life, resulting in infections, blocked digestive tracts, causing starvation and reproductive problems -
eventually these micro-plastics break down into nano-plastics working their way up the food chain and potentially onto our dinner plates.
In Australia alone, the microfibers released into our big blue weekly is equivalent to 7500 plastic bags weekly (O’Loughlin, 2018).
The implications that they have on both the environment and our own health are overwhelming.
But have no fear! We are here to tell you how you can do your part to help nurse our environment back to health.
We’ve taken baby steps to reduce the harsh impacts nylon has on our oceans and planet by making our Bon Voyage swim collection out of ECONYL regenerated nylon.
We’ve taken baby steps to reduce the harsh impacts nylon has on our oceans and planet by making our Bon Voyage swim collection out of ECONYL regenerated nylon.
However microfibers can still leech into our waterways when washing your swimwear. So in the fight to prevent micro plastic pollution we introduce you to Guppyfriend Washing Bags
~ the must-have accessory to our latest swimwear collection!
What Are Guppy Bags & How Do They Work?
Our environmental warriors STOP! Micro Waste, have heard Mother Nature’s desperate plea for help
and answered all of her prayers by designing the Guppyfriend Washing Bag.
The Guppy Bag urges you to put all of your synthetic textiles inside of it and then wash as usual! It’s as easy as that.
The Guppy Bag urges you to put all of your synthetic textiles inside of it and then wash as usual! It’s as easy as that.
The Guppy Bags then work their magic and filter out even the tiniest of microfibers that are released when washing.
All they ask of you is to collect the fibres and dispose of them mindfully. How?
Simply put the fibres into a closed container to avoid them escaping into the environment and dispose through your local sanitary landfill.
In Germany residual waste is energetically used to generate electricity and does not end up in landfills.
We still have some way to go here in Australia, but we can all take small actions that will make a difference.
What's even better, is that all of the profits collected by
STOP! Micro Waste are invested towards further addressing the micro waste problem.
Here's what our incredible friend, Claire O'Loughlin of ocean-remedy.com and stopmicrowaste.com has to say about the Guppyfriend:
"The fibres you will capture are absolutely minimal. My favourite aspect is that it does it's job by minimising the breakage to start with (89% reduction).
This is a double win for the environment... less breakage means your garments last longer, and less microplastics into our oceans. The fibres that do break are held back (99%)."
"It will take many washes before the bag even needs cleaning out. Perhaps a brand new fleece or similar will yield more, but generally speaking,
"It will take many washes before the bag even needs cleaning out. Perhaps a brand new fleece or similar will yield more, but generally speaking,
I'd only take fibres from my bag between 10-20 wash uses. They are just a small smattering clinging in the seams, and particularly at the top corner near the zipper.
I store mine in a jar. The reason being, I can tell friends about it, share education etc. I must stress, the amount is tiny!!
Potentially if stored they could then be included in a take back program where is a simplistic carpet underlay/soundproofing option.
Sadly, the alternative is to put them in your bin, off to landfill they go. Not great, but better than direct deposit to the ocean.
Key point being, the breakage is minimised to start with and that's a massive win."
What Can You Do Next?
While the Guppy Bag is only the first step towards solving this monumental issue, every little bit counts!
While the Guppy Bag is only the first step towards solving this monumental issue, every little bit counts!
And by using Guppy Bags you are doing your part in reducing micro plastic pollution.
As this is only one step towards reducing micro plastic pollution, we encourage you to continue being wise with your washing habits, keeping Mother Nature as a priority.
STOP! Micro Waste also recommend shorter wash cycles in in cool temperatures, skipping the spin cycle and opting to air out your clothes instead of washing each wear.
These extra few initiatives will help lift our environments spirits.
There we have it - we all need a Guppyfriend!
The perfect partner to our latest sustainable swimwear collection by trapping microfibers and preventing them from polluting our waterways and oceans.
So take our hand and join us on our journey towards a sustainable future of fashion 🌏💚
References.
O’Loughlin, C. (2018). The impact of activewear/swimwear laundering:
References.
O’Loughlin, C. (2018). The impact of activewear/swimwear laundering:
Investigating microplastic- fibre emissions from recycled and non-recycled synthetic textiles.
Journal of the HEIA 25, 2. Retrieved Fashion_and_Microplastics_Ocean_Remedy_2018.pdf
STOP! Micro Waste. (2019). Microplastic: Synthetic Textiles. Retrieved from stopmicrowaste.com/en/microplastic
STOP! Micro Waste. (2019). Microplastic: Synthetic Textiles. Retrieved from stopmicrowaste.com/en/microplastic
