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| Korea Water Forum President Kwak Kyul-ho, left, poses with LG Electronics Executive Vice President Kim Young-rak, after signing an agreement to jointly reduce microplastics production and protect marine ecosystems at LG Science Park in Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of LG Electronics |
By Baek Byung-yeul
LG Electronics is attempting to protect marine ecosystems by offering new washing machines that produce less microplastics and partnering with Korea Water Forum to develop practical solutions further, the company said Monday.
LG said it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at LG Science Park in Seoul with Korea Water Forum, the country's representative organization that leads international activities and collaboration to address global water issues.
"Through the agreement, LG and Korea Water Forum will establish a customer engagement process for the preservation of marine ecosystems and a collaborative system for environment-related research and development activities," LG said.
LG will also introduce the microplastics care course feature of its washing machines at events hosted by the Korea Water Forum. LG said the microplastics care course feature is unique to the LG TROMM washing machine which delivers a gentle wash. This feature reduces microplastics created by fabric friction during the washing process by up to 70 percent.
According to data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature, microplastics generated during the laundry process account for 35 percent of the microplastics in the world's oceans.
Since April, LG has been offering an upgrade of this feature to users of LG Up TROMM machines. More than 2,000 downloads have been made within a month of its release, LG said.
LG added that it is also conducting activities to protect marine ecosystems. One example is that the company developed water-soluble glass powder that can turn into mineral ions when dissolved in water.
