Chapter 1 · Kerala, India

Meet the fishermen
of Kerala

Xavier's catch
His nets come up with more plastic than fish.
For thirty years, Xavier fished off Kerala's coast. His nets used to come up full of sardines. Today, they come up with plastic.

Reported by National Geographic ↗. Kerala's coastal waters now carry up to 200 microplastic particles per litre.
Most plastic in the water is too small to see.
Chapter 2 · The Problem

The bottles are visible.
The fibres are not.

Every litre of seawater near Kerala holds hundreds of microplastic fibres — smaller than a hair, invisible to the eye. Tap the fibres to see where they end up.

Found 0 / 4
Tap fibres to see where they end up
Chapter 3 · The Source

So where do they all come from?

Xavier's catch
Where the story started
Rivers & oceans
Fibres drift with the current
Wastewater plant
30–60% of microfibres slip through
Your washing machine
35% of ocean microplastics start here
Laundry is the largest single source of microplastic pollution in the ocean — ~1.5M tonnes a year, globally.
Chapter 4 · Inside one wash

How many fibres did your laundry release?

Microplastic fibres released
700,000
from 1 load of polyester laundry
Wash 1 load = today
Chapter 5 · The Solution

Meet ChitoTrap.

A €59.90 cartridge that catches 97–99% of microplastics at the source.

🔧 No plumber needed — clips onto your washer's outlet
Activated carbon
traps surfactants & soap residue
Chitosan banana fibre
captures 100 nm – 100 µm fibres
Tap each layer to see what it does
97–99%
Capture rate
€59.90
Retail price
100nm
Smallest captured
Validated by Whirlpool LG Reliance
🏆 Awards UCL VC Fund IIT Bombay Chempreneur 2026 Stanford Sustainability
TRL 5 · Working prototype Team: TUM · IIT Bombay · TU Berlin · Imperial
Chapter 6 · Your move

Be part of Xavier's next catch.

We're sending the first ChitoTrap units to homes in France & India — free at launch. Tell us where to send yours.

🌊

You're on the list.

We'll send your free ChitoTrap when we launch. Together, we change Xavier's catch.

Free when we launch · No payment required · Worldwide
Limited capacity — first come, first served.
Get It Free
CHAPTER 3 · HOW IT WORKS

Where the microplastics go.

EVERY HOME living room laundry room RUNNING 700,000 FIBRES PER WASH DOWN THE DRAIN HOME WASTEWATER catches only 40–70% 50,000/year YOU EAT The path from drain to plate clean ocean WASHER ChitoTrap 97–99% CAUGHT HERE CLEAN WATER OUT
Step 1. A normal home with a washing machine. Click the door to enter.
Step 2. The washing machine is in the laundry room. Click on it to look inside.
Step 3. One wash releases about 700,000 microplastic fibres. They leave with the wastewater through the drain.
Step 4. Wastewater plants catch only 40–70% of them. The rest reach rivers and oceans. Fish eat them. The average person eats about 50,000 particles a year through food and water.
Step 5. ChitoTrap clips onto the drain hose. It catches 97–99% of the fibres. The water that leaves the house is clean.
CHAPTER 4 · MEET CHITOTRAP

A washing machine filter. Catches 97–99% of microplastics.

€59.90. Clips onto the drain hose. Stops 700,000 microplastic fibres from leaving with each wash.

Sign up See our progress ↓
100 nm to 100 µmparticle size range
TRL 5tested in lab
Chitosan + banana fibrenatural materials
700,000 MICROPLASTIC FIBRES PER WASH ChitoTrap 97–99% CAUGHT HERE CLEAN WATER OUT
CHAPTER 5 · OUR PROGRESS

What we have done so far.

ChitoTrap has a working prototype. Industry partners have signed letters of intent. The team has received funding and awards.

🏆
Stanford Sustainability
Europe winner, 2026
🥇
IIT Bombay Chempreneur
Top finalist, 2026
💰
UCL Venture Capital Fund
Funded, 2026
🌱
EuroTeQaThon
First place, sustainability track
Letters of intent from
Whirlpool · LG Soft · Reliance
TRL 5
Working prototype
Working prototype tested in the lab. Currently moving toward TRL 6.
Team
VM
V. Maggie K.
TUM Munich
HR
Harsh Raj
IIT Bombay
M
Madina
TU Berlin
AH
Alice Han
Imperial College
CHAPTER 6 · SIGN UP

Get on the waitlist.

Add your email. We will send one email when ChitoTrap launches. No other messages.

  • · €59.90 cartridge
  • · Filters 97–99% of microplastics
  • · Catches particles from 100 nm to 100 µm
  • · Clips onto your washing machine drain
  • · Tested in lab (TRL 5)
One email when ChitoTrap is ready.

You are on the list.

We will email you when ChitoTrap ships.