Why doing your laundry is undoing your efforts to be eco-friendly – and how you can fix it!

Doing your laundry is one of those tasks we do almost daily, and yet it could be one of the biggest contributors to your negative environmental impact.

There are three main factors to consider when looking to be eco-friendlier with your washing – your clothing, laundry products, and your machine and dryer.

These are our top tips to reform how you wash to be gentler on the environment and your budget!

Clothing

Change How Your Shop – Purchase high quality pieces that are made to last, avoid fast fashion, and head to the thrift or second-hand store. Buying less and keeping clothing out of landfills makes a huge difference to the environment and is a simple habit you can continue for a lifetime.

Change How You Wash – Learn how to take care of the clothing you have to extend its lifetime, and how to avoid the drycleaners. Also start wearing clothes more than once before cleaning (where possible), and create a wardrobe that can be mixed and matched and use quality laundry products like The Laundress.

Repair & Revive – There are countless articles and videos that detail how to correct issues such as stains, fading, pilling, and tears away from the seams. By learning how to repair and revive your clothing you extend its lifetime and maintain an amazing wardrobe.

Products

When looking for a new laundry brand consider if it ticks the following checklist…

Concentrated – Get the same level of clean with half the amount of product! Using less product means you require less packaging, energy, and water.

Eco-friendly – Look for products that contain plant-derived (no animal by-products) ingredients which are free of allergens, sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS), petroleum, phthalate, phosphates, parabens, and chlorine bleach as well as artificial colours, dyes, or unnecessary additives. Also be sure the packaging and liquids are environmentally friendly and 100% biodegradable.

How You Wash

Keep Cool – Did you know 90% of the energy used by a typical washing machine is to heat the water, with only 10% used to power the motor.

Keep it Full – Only wash when you have a full load. Less loads means less water, power and soap.

Follow Up – Hang your washing out to dry instead of using the dryer and when you hang it straight from the wash you can avoid using the iron. By educating yourself on proper stain removal and fabric specific care, you can also avoid using the drycleaner.