- Less washing means less wear and tear on your garments, meaning they'll serve you for longer.
- Less washing means your machine is powered up far less; good for your energy bill, and for the planet.
- Less washing means fewer microfibres from your clothes are released back into the water supply, which can harm aquatic life, and thus, harm our ecosystems. According to research by Plymouth University, washing just 6kg of clothes can release anywhere between 137,951 microfibres for polyester-cotton and 728,789 for acrylic clothing!
How often you should really wash clothes depends on the type of fabric, and on how often you're wearing it, but our rule of thumb is: only wash clothes when they are dirty. If there's no odours or visible stains, put down the detergent!
If you're looking to give your clothes a refresh between washes, we recommend steaming clothes - it kills up to 96% of the bacteria on your clothes, without the need for a full wet wash. Add a dash of our Steamer Water in Blue Lily and Bergamot for a hit of lasting floral freshness.
Furthermore, our other clothing sprays are designed to deodorise and freshen clothes between washes, and their cleansing agents mean you really don't have to wash as often! Think of them like dry shampoo for your clothes.
2. Wash Low
This one may seem obvious for a more eco-friendly laundry routine, but washing your clothes at a lower temperature can make a big impact in terms of how much energy you're consuming daily. Did you know, washing clothes at 30 degrees uses 38% less energy than washing at 40 degrees.
Okay, we'll admit it, there are some things you should wash at higher temperatures. A higher washing temperature is useful for tough stained items or items that contain high levels of bacteria, for example clothes worn by someone who has been ill, however for most items, we stick to a cool 30 degrees. And a lower washing temperature doesn't just mean less energy used - this also means less wear and tear on your clothing, and fewer microfibres released into the water thanks to less agitation in the machine.
Luckily, Clothes Doctor detergents are designed to work wonders even at low temperatures, so you don't have to compromise on cleaning power with your washing liquid! It's a no-brainer!
SHOP CLOTHES DOCTOR DETERGENTS
3. Think twice before machine drying.
Sure, machine drying your clothes may seem like the easiest way of drying, and is probably the quickest, but there are some stats about dryers that you should know before putting on your next load! If you're aiming for a more eco-friendly laundry routine, you should consider ditching the dryer (well, at least sometimes).
- Britain’s tumble dryers use more than £1.1m of electricity every single day – enough energy to power 2,650 homes for a year (if they didn’t have dryers, that is).
- Drying laundry outside on a washing line will cut the carbon footprint of every load by up to 2kg.
- Using tumble dryers creates 310kg of CO2 in an average UK family.
- Tumble dryers are the most energy intensive household appliances – nearly two thirds more than washing machines.
Washing clothes is something we have to do, but machine drying isn't, and to save 2kg worth of carbon footprint per load, we absolutely recommend hanging your clothes out to dry! Its a sure-fire and super simple way to achieve a more eco-friendly laundry routine.
4. Consider your products.
We naturally recommend Clothes Doctor detergents as great sustainable additions to any eco-friendly laundry routine; they're vegan, plastic-free, cruelty-free and palm oil-free. Music to our eco ears!
However, the top thing to remember when it comes to sustainability and living an eco lifestyle, is to use what you have first. There's no point in filling your cupboards with products that'll sit there gathering dust - overconsumption is not going to do any good for the planet.
So, use up what you've got, and consider Clothes Doctor for the next step in your eco-friendly laundry routine. Why not subscribe to get our detergents sent straight to your door, while saving 20% and receiving free shipping! What's not to love?
With these simple tips, you'll be on your way to a more eco-friendly laundry routine, and a more sustainable lifestyle. Even if you can just implement one of these steps, you'll be making a difference!
Shop our whole range of laundry products and clothing care tools to make laundry day a pleasure, not a chore.
