coral-like ‘cora ball’ stops microfibres from your laundry ending up in the ocean

every time we do our laundry, our clothes shed tiny fibres which get washed down the drain and eventually end up in the sea. unlike microbeads, which can be banned, everyone who wears and washes clothes is contributing to pollution with microfibres, and the rozalia project—the start-up behind cora ball—has figured out a way to catch these plastic and chemical-covered strands before they reach our waters.

images courtesy of the rozalia project/ cora ball

the cora ball has been created by the seattle university alumni-founded statrup rozalia project, and as its name would suggest, takes influence from the coral found naturally in the ocean in order to mimic the way it catches tiny things flowing around in water. considering that most washing machines do not have filters, and the ones that do are only good for catching stray coins and keys that get left in our pockets, to prevent tiny fibres from accumulating in the ocean the cora ball needed to filter fibres whilst allowing water to pass.by recreating the structure of this ocean plant, the ball catches excess fuzz as it spins around.

3D printed from 100% recycled and 100% recyclable plastic, the cora ball has been designed to protect our public waterways from a host of potentially harmful materials and chemicals. in the US, clothes are 60% plastic. although the rest may be made from natural materials, they are often covered in dyes, heavy metals and other chemicals. so, the cora ball aims to catch all of this manmade material before it ends up throughout the marine ecosystem, in the bellies of fish, and ultimately, on our plates.

equipped with fibre-catching stalks, the cora ball fits neatly into your machine with your laundry, picking up fibres as it goes. once you’re finished, just pick out the fuzz and pop it into the trash. in the future, the rozalia project want to go on to find ways to upcycle these microfibres into new clothes.