About Hairy Ballz
What are Hairy Ballz?
Hairy Ballz are 100% New Zealand wool balls. You put a pair in your wash and leave them to swish about. As water from your laundry passes through them they catch the tiny particles of synthetic fibre that have been released from your clothing. You don't need to put your synthetics into anything, or use tweezers to clean them out. They just swoosh around doing their job of preventing plastic pollution. They will keep working on reducing ocean pollution for approximately 100 washes. When your Ballz need to be changed you will notice they have become softer and fuzzy around the edges. You can then take them to your local textile recycling point and get a new pair. You will be able to see small fibres collecting on the outside of your Ballz really quickly, as seen in the photos opposite. They are simple to use and easy to recycle. All of the packaging is fully recyclable and made from reclaimed paper and card.
Preventing plastic pollution
- There is no doubt that the seas are polluted with all types of human waste - the most insidious being plastic in the ocean. Plastic won't biodegrade but instead breaks down into smaller and smaller particles which photodegrade into microplastics adding to ocean pollution.. These are then ingested by small microbes and eventually make their way onto your plate. This is the microplastic and fibre collected by a pair of Hairy Ballz after just one week! Your Hairy Ballz will work hard on microplastic prevention.
How much microplastic do you create?
Washing clothes made from synthetic materials is a potentially harmful source of plastic in the ocean. A study by Plymouth University examined the release of fibres from common fabrics; polyester, polyester-cotton blend and acrylic. Fibre release varied according to laundry treatment with various complex interactions. For an average wash load of 6 kg, over 700,000 fibres could be released per wash - adding to ocean pollution.
Microplastic Prevention is the main aim of Hairy Ballz.
Source - Napper.Thompson,2016, Plymouth University<sciencedirect.com>
Supported Charities - Hairy Ballz giving a helping hand
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