Toxic Laundry Is Creating A Real-World Stranger Things Monster

Creative Activist Calls On All Nerds to Take Action
on Growing Toxic Laundry Epidemic

Viral artist and social activist, Ben Wong, is out to stop a monster. Not the creepy one from Netflix’s Stranger Thing, but a real world monster that is contaminating our water supply?

Toxic laundry.

Clothing made from polyester, nylon, spandex and other synthetic material are releasing tiny plastic fibers every time we do our laundry. That water, in turn, gets put back into our water supply through wastewater treatment centers those fibers are too small to be captured through filtration processes. This “toxic laundry” has become a threat to our water supply.

Because these microfibers are less than a fifth of an inch long, many of them also get through the filters in treatment plants, yet so far there haven’t been any governmental efforts to regulate them. A recent study commissioned by outdoor clothing company Patagonia suggests we could be sending a shocking amount of these fibers — more than 64,000 pounds — into oceans and streams each day. 

But Ben Wong is on a mission to bring light to this issue and create a movement to change how laundry machine manufacturers attack toxic laundry.

“I learned that by 2025, the world’s synthetic fiber production will double – so too will the amount of microfibers in our water supply,” says Wong. “Despite the many awareness campaigns explaining the problem, none offered a large-scale solution.”

So, Wong has set out to recruit others to join the cause in challenging environmentally conscious corporations positioned to make a difference. And with that, #FixToxicLaundry was born, a viral campaign designed to attract attention and spark action.

“There’s only one thing left to do. For you to join the movement and challenge them to see which one replies first,” Wong says. “I truly believe that if consumers care, corporations will react and that together, we can come together and make a difference.”

Wong is asking anyone and everyone that cares about the healthiness of our water supply to take to social media and get real change.

To learn more about the #FixToxicLaundry project, visit Ben Wong’s site here.