Each year, 500,000 tons of microfibres are released into the ocean as a result of washing clothes made from synthetic fibres, such as polyester, nylon, and acrylic. These microfibres threaten our health as they enter our food and bodies through the food chain. To combat this, German inventors, Alexander Nolte and Oliver Spies, developed Guppyfriend — a mesh laundry bag that captures shedding fibres, preventing the fibres from escaping. The Guppyfriend Washing Bag minimizes fibre loss while washing in two ways: First, it significantly reduces the amount of fibres that separate, allowing for clothing to last much longer. Second, plastic fibres that separate from the fabric while being washed are contained in the bag, preventing microfibres from entering waterways. The polyamide 6.6 Guppyfriend Washing Bags retain between 90 and 95 percent of fibres. Since the fabric is constructed of monofilaments, it also does not shed any microplastic fibres.
I first discovered Guppyfriend last year during CUS Sustainability’s Chasing Sustainability Conference. The workshop speaker introduced Guppyfriend as their simple solution to washing synthetic fibres that have been purchased from fast fashion retailers in the past. When making the switch over to more sustainable brands, rather than throwing away the fast fashion items and creating more waste, the speaker endorsed using Guppyfriend to reduce the harmful effects of synthetic fibres. Since then, I have been using Guppyfriend to wash my synthetic fibres. I don’t typically put natural fibre clothing in the washing bag, but I do add it to the load to balance off the Guppyfriend bag. After washing, you should find microfibers in the corners and seams of the clothing after you take it out of the bag. The fibres can then be clumped together and disposed of in the garbage.
Although it is a small change, it is inspiring to see how innovation can prevent tons of microfibres from entering our waterways. However, since it is a relatively new product, I would like to learn more about the lifetime analysis of the Guppyfriend bag to determine the impact based on how frequently you use the bag, what you put in it, and how it compares to other similar products. As well, there is minimal information about whether or not the production of the bag itself offsets the relatively small volume of fibres it will catch in its lifetime (approximately 50+ washes). Nonetheless, based on my experiences, I would still recommend the Guppyfriend as a simple solution to combating microplastic pollution.
