New research conducted by the home appliance brand, Grundig, on 2,000 UK adults has revealed that nearly half (46%) of Brits are taking part in daily activities that are harmful to the environment. More significantly, 29% are in denial when it comes to environmental issues, with a large proportion of society hoping that the problem will simply resolve itself. The study revealed that, whilst the majority (59%) of respondents think about environmental issues on a weekly basis, they are prevented from giving up actions and activities that they know are detrimental to the planet due to a lack of better, more affordable alternatives.
Grundig’s research also highlighted a lack of knowledge related to the causes of microfibre pollution. Whilst 67% of respondents believed microplastics to be a significant issue for the environment, 49% of those surveyed did not know that the leading source of plastic pollution in the oceans comes from synthetic microfibres shed from clothing. Grundig’s survey showed that 7 out of 10 adults would stop eating certain foods if they could see the number of microfibres they were consuming. Overall, 75% of respondents agreed more needs to be done to raise awareness of the hidden dangers of microfibres in our waterways and how the issue can be combated.
Teresa Arbuckle, MD of Beko plc and spokesperson for Grundig, said: “It is important for us as a nation to understand the extent to which our daily activities are having an impact on our planet. Grundig’s brand purpose is to lead by example and inspire people to take small steps towards a better future. We believe that each individual can positively impact the planet by making small changes in their daily activities and we are proud to empower them to achieve more sustainable living. We are committed to leading the industry forward with the launch of Grundig washing machines with FiberCatcher technology, all with the world’s first integrated synthetic microfibre filtering system, helping minimise synthetic fibre pollution.”
Launched in 2021, Grundig’s FiberCatcher washing machine is the world’s first washing machine with an integrated synthetic microfibre filter designed to filter up to 90% of microplastics during synthetic washes, capturing up to 700,000 microplastics in a single wash cycle.
