“We create new generation filtering devices”

Two entrepreneurs from the Forbes 30 Under 30 list want to make your laundry even cleaner.

Julia Yan and Sarah Beth Gleeson founded Philadelphia-based Baleena in response to the dangerous microplastics that appear in millions of people’s laundry. Their solution is a filter that fits into the drums of existing washing machines and installs in less than five minutes.

“Let’s wash our T-shirts, not eat,” Yan said in a story published by the Michigan Advance (MA). The seemingly strange quote has merit because microplastics are accumulating in our oceans and, therefore, in our seafood.

The journal Nature reports that the main source of microplastics in the sea is the plastic fiber clothing we wear. Up to 1.5 million microfibers can be released during washing. Some of them even end up in our bodies, potentially during our last visit to the local seafood buffet.

Although they are very small – less than 5 millimeters – their impact on our body is of great concern to scientists. Grist reports that pollution can even affect our hormones.

The answer, according to Baleen’s founders, starts in the laundry room.

“We are creating next-generation filtration devices to reduce textile pollution in the supply chain, and we are starting with individual consumers with a hardware product,” Gleeson said in the MA article.

The quotes come from a recent presentation where the entrepreneurs accepted the $20,000 first-place prize in the Great Lakes AquaHacking Challenge as their filter. Ten finalists presented their arguments to judges from Northwestern Michigan College, proposing solutions to problems with PFAS, lead contamination, microplastics and nutrient issues.

The Baleena filter is brilliant because of its simplicity. It uses the movement of existing washing machines to capture microplastics during operation. It’s a pill-shaped device with grilled sides.

“You can just load the laundry like you would normal laundry and then run the program,” Gleeson told MA. It costs less than a yearly subscription to the New York Times, business owners say on the company’s website.

Forbes notes that Yan and Gleeson are targeting “young, eco-conscious consumers.” The report shows that they have already secured $460,000 in pre-seed funding.

Yan, the CEO, holds degrees in engineering. Gleeson, also an engineer, completed a summer internship at Oak Ridge National Laboratory before becoming Baleena’s technical director. They both graduate from the University of Pennsylvania in 2022.

They are not the only ones interested in filtering microplastics from pads. Scientists from Germany’s University of Bonn are developing a filter inspired by fish gills that could be installed in machines.

Even major brands like Crocs and others are implementing more sustainable recycling programs for synthetic products to keep them out of landfills or the ocean. Your purchasing power can help your efforts if you support companies that have the planet’s best interests in mind.

You can actually prevent plastic pollution from entering the world right from your own laundry, as Baleena’s founders see it.

“I am grateful to the community of people who have supported us and brought us to this point. This is for you!” Gleeson posted on LinkedIn. “We will continue to work together to make a positive impact.”

Join our free newsletter to receive weekly updates on the coolest innovations improving our lives AND saving our planet.