Cora Ball - Microfiber Catching Laundry Ball

The single biggest pollution problem facing our ocean is microfiber: trillions of pieces of tiny fibres
flowing into the ocean – every time we use our washing machines. Our clothing is breaking up,
sending this microfiber (made of plastic and chemical-covered non-plastics) out with the drain water
– just one fleece jacket could shed up to 250,000 pieces per garment per wash. New York City, alone,
could have 6.8 billion microfibers flowing into its harbour every day. We are all contributing to this
problem. Every time we do laundry, our clothes shed tiny microfibers, which go down the drains of
our washing machines, through wastewater treatment facilities and into our waterways. Everyone who
wears and washes clothes is part of this pollution. Everyone who eats or breathes could suffer the
consequences.

Most washing machines do not have filters. The ones that do are only good to keep keys and coins
from clogging your pipes. A standard filter cannot do what needs to be done: catch fibres too small
for the human eye to see and allow water flow. Coral does exactly what we need; it catches tiny things
from flowing water. Using those same principles in the design of the Cora Ball, you can now just
drop, or throw it into your washing machine and do your wash as usual. It is easy to use and easy to
clean. Every time we do laundry, our clothes shed tiny, unseen microfibers (including plastic), which
go down the drains of our washing machines and into our waterways. And most of us don’t even
know it! There’s plastic hiding in our waterways and ocean! That’s not great for the animals living in
those waters, or for us. The Cora Ball is a new kind of laundry ball. Inspired by the way coral filters
the ocean, the Cora Ball collects our microfibers into fuzz we can see, so we can dispose of
microfibers in the right way. Together, we keep these microfibers out of our waterways and our ocean.
Yes! Just toss the Cora Ball into your washer. It's a simple step that has a big impact wash after wash.

The inventor of the Cora Ball is the non-profit environmental group Rozalia Project, headquartered
in Granville, Vermont. Its co-founder says it had its product independently studied and found it can
cut the amount of microfibers released through the wash by more than 25 percent. "This is a consumer
solution for people to be part of by throwing it in their washing machine," said Rachael Miller, co-
founder of Rozalia Project. In 2009, Miller was sailing by Matinicus Isle off the coast of Maine;
beautiful as it was, a recent Noreaster left the island completely overlain with trash. "My husband
turned and said to me: There is one thing that really makes you angry — ocean trash," Miller said.
After removing garbage from the Matinicus shore, Miller had the impetus to start an organization to
reduce water pollution. She founded the Rozalia Project, which leads four activities in water and
ocean stewardship: clean-ups; education; solutions-based research; and innovation.

She gathered James Lyne, a professional sailor and co-founder of Rozalia Project and Brooke
Winslow, a then-student in ocean engineering and environmental science who was interning with the
Rozalia Project. However, as the team brainstormed it kept running into bottlenecks — the need to
catch very tiny things and the need to keep water flowing. James then had the realization that nature
already had the solution — coral. Miller’s team designed and manufactured a prototype mimicking a
coral reef and Cora Ball was born and spun out from the Rozalia Project.

Questions

1. Discuss the possible challenges of selling Cora ball to Indian consumers?

2. As a Marketing Manager of the brand, how could you tackle these challenges?
3. Going B2C or B2B, which is a better strategy for Cora Ball? Justify your answer.
4. Discuss the possible measures which could be adopted by OTDC (Odisha Tourism
Development Corporation) to tackle marine pollution in tourist destinations.