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challenge short headline
Use a microfibre bag
challenge short headline
Use a microfibre bag
Keep your laundry low impact
Your Challenge
challenge action
When washing your laundry, throw it in a microfibre bag to collect polluting microplastics.
Duration
7 days
Why you're doing this
challenge issue
A lot of the clothes we wear are made of plastics like polyester and nylon. Each time we wash them, these materials shed microfibres – tiny pieces of plastic, thinner than a strand of hair. They’re so small they can drain out of our washing machines and pass straight through wastewater treatment plants into the sea. One load of washing can shed up to 17 million plastic fibres. Not enough is currently known about the long-term impacts of microplastics on marine ecosystems - or on human health.
How you'll make a difference
challenge solution
Bagging up your clothes before you wash them or adding a microfibre collection ball can help reduce the amount of microplastics sneaking into our waterways and ending up in the ocean. Microfibres bags such as GuppyFriend collect some of these microplastics in their meshes. They can then be scooped out into your rubbish bin and the bag reused.
Track your progress
in the My Footprint App
Track your progress and discover many more challenges in the My Footprint app. Available for iOS and Android devices.
