magFish is a handmade organic laundry detergent designed in 12 species of fish.
It helps keep washing up water free from chemicals.
The company has both domestic and international customers mostly from their online channels.
Eco-friendly magFish is a new organic product with a mission to save the waterways by swimming in washing machines to help remove stains on the clothes and keep water free from chemicals.
Warisa Donavanik is the co-founder of magFish, a handmade laundry detergent which can be used as a substitute for detergent and fabric softener. The capsules consist of 99.95% pure magnesium, combined with natural fibres designed in 12 species of fish, which can be used up to 365 days.
“Using magnesium for laundry is not new among Japanese. But in Thailand, it’s rather new and difficult to access, so magFish adds value by creating a two-in-one function that makes home laundry both clean and helping society,” says Donavanik.
According to her, magnesium is the eighth most abundant element in seawater, and works as an alkali. It can remove dirt from clothes using a washing machine’s centrifugal force, or even by hand wash.
“The detergent we normally use contains magnesium hydroxide,” she says. “This is a chemical that reverses the reaction. we may think that the yellow stains on white shirts, or scale in the washing machine, is from our clothes, but it is actually caused by magnesium hydroxide slag and chemicals from fabric softeners. These residual chemicals are the enemy that will always undermine the waterways.”
In its quest to increase sustainability, Donavanik has left no detail untouched. When choosing materials to create the fish body, she takes into account long-term degradation by refusing to use nylon and polyester fabrics, which release microfibres during each wash. Microfibres pollute the waterways and are not biodegradable.
Therefore, Donavanik chooses natural fibres. Muslin cloth was selected and sewn into a magnesium maw bag and covered with linen sewn to create the colourful fish body on the outside, and finished off with natural wooden buttons to make the small eyes.
“After a year of use, it can be buried in the soil to use as fertiliser because magnesium is one of the nutrients needed for plant growth,” she says.
“We don’t look at these fish as a money-making business. Because it comes from a sense of fun and the aim to help the environment. This business is a gradual organic work. Even when we receive more and more orders, we still use our handicrafts as we believe that growing with our own two hands is always beautiful.”
There are now a wide variety of fish patterns for customers to choose from, including mackerel, pufferfish, parrotfish, stingrays, nemo, clownfish, spotted bulls and angelfish. Currently, magFish has both domestic and international customers mostly generated from their online channels, including Facebook, Instagram and the Pinkoi ecommerce platform from Taiwan.
For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/magfishplaruknam
Words by Natthinee Ratanaprasidhi
Photo courtesy of magFish
