MORRISVILLE, Vt. (WCAX) – This business is making a bold claim.
“We protect the ocean and the rivers and lakes that feed her,” says Rachael Miller, founder of Cora Ball. They’re not doing it with paper straws or reusable bags. Rather, their eyes are set on saving your clothes.
“Little tiny pieces of these textiles break and flow into the environment, whether that’s through the effluent out of our washing machines, get blown out of the dryer exhaust or just flitter away,” says Miller.
It’s an issue she learned about while reading a popular science magazine back in 2013. The problem practically screamed at Miller and her affinity for water, and she was determined to find a solution.
First, she established a nonprofit called the Rozalia Project, which focuses on marine debris. In doing further research, Miller learned that clothing damage can do a lot of damage to the environment and the critters that live in it.
“Everything from physical to behavioral effects, even to mortality when creatures ingest microplastics, including microfibers,” says Miller.
Now, this National Geographic explorer and self-proclaimed water lover is trying to stop pollution right at the source.
“No one had really caught microfiber in a washing machine before, and that’s where the initial problem was identified and so that’s where we did our focus,” says Miller.
Taking inspiration from coral, the team created the Cora Ball. It’s manufactured with zero-waste injection molds in Williamstown, and pieced together at Manufacturing Solutions in Morrisville. The little blue ball prevents clothing from shedding in your washing machine, and Miller says, it catches microfibers before they even reach the drain.
All you have to do is drop the ball into your washing machine. There’s no separation required, except for delicates. Miller cites a handful of international studies that show it works.
“They found that the Cora Ball combined prevents slash collects between 26% and 31% of the microfibers that would otherwise be washed out of the washing machine affluent,” she says.
Cora Ball has been around for seven years now, and the balls in use have not started breaking down. Miller says if they do, they’re built to be repaired or recycled. As of today, more than 100,000 Cora Balls are bouncing around washing machines in 62 countries. Every single one of them is making a small impact in the effort to preserve the oceans.
“The fact that so many people are willing to take that step to protect it is something that gives us a lot of energy,” says Miller.
Miller’s efforts to preserve our waterways don’t stop in the laundry room. Next week, we’ll show you how the Cora Ball team is tackling microplastics in the kitchen with their Cora Boards. That story will debut on Dec. 9 at 6 p.m.