MER, the sea, and microfibre emissions.

​This past Thursday, we had the opportunity to speak on a Local Water Matters panel, hosted by the Guelph Greens, home of Green Party of Ontario leader, Mike Schreiner. Residents, friends, and concerned citizens gathered to discuss local water problems and to present solutions and actions to resolve these issues.

Full house eager to learn about local water matters. Credit: @MikeSchreiner

The evening opened with a gracious, indigenous water ceremony, recognizing the land we were on and the importance of water. We were able to hear from eco-travelling student entrepreneur, Emily DeSousa, Wellington Water Watchers executive director, Arlene Slocombe, and Concerned Residents Coalition president, Doug Tripp. We learned about Emily's efforts to travel sustainably and protect oceans, Arlene's work to conserve local water and what we can do to help, and Doug's coalition to prevent Hidden Quarry's development. There was a great turn out to this event, and we were thrilled to be invited to share knowledge of the microfibre problem and what we are doing to solve it. It really is inspiring to hear about the great work that is going on all around us!

Emily DeSousa of Airplanes and Avocados, Mike Schreiner, GPO Leader, Doug Tripp of CRC, Lauren Smith of PolyGone Technologies, and Arlene Slocombe of Wellington Water Watchers. Credit: @GuelphGreens

MER = sea, in French

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As an action item at this event, we launched our proposal for MER, a Microfibre Emission Rating, that will report on microfibre emissions for various appliances and clothing items. Similar to the EnerGuide rating system, MER ratings can help consumers understand how many microfibres are being released when they wash their clothes, and help hold businesses responsible for their emissions. We hope that this rating will help encourage businesses to adopt microfibre mitigation measures, as well as increase transparency on this issue.

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To develop this rating system, we are asking our governments for support. We also launched a petition for this rating system at the event last week. Let us know if you'd like to add your name, or find us at these upcoming events in Kitchener and Guelph to sign it in person. An online version is available here. Help us enforce microfibre emission ratings for transparency on this problem, to encourage microfibre mitigation technologies, and to help save everyone from eating their dirty laundry.