Did you know that our laundry habits can significantly contribute to environmental pollution? Who knew that?
Fortunately, reducing the impact it has on our planet is convenient and easy. You can even make your clothes last longer. Each of us holds the power to keep the environment clean and green with every load of clothes we wash.
Did you know that our laundry habits can significantly contribute to environmental pollution?
It is obvious how keeping items and using them instead of buying new ones every now and then can reduce our carbon footprint. This is why taking good care of clothes is of crucial importance.
This article will walk you through 6 ways to take care of your clothes and the planet! Let us get started.
Wash clothes that need to be washed
Washing clothes every now and then without the actual necessity not only depletes energy but also wastes water. Washing your clothes once every two days releases about 440 kg of carbon dioxide, and 90 percent of the energy consumed by washing machines is used only for heating the water!
Many clothes we wear like shirts, jeans and tops can be worn a few times before making their way into the washing machine.
Here’s a useful tip: remember what has been worn previously and what has not, you can turn your hangers around for items already worn before. Just make sure that you determine which clothes need to be washed and do so with eco-friendly detergents.
Use water at room temperature
Washing clothes with water at room temperature not only saves a lot of energy but also protects your clothes. Hot water is known to shrink clothes and bleed the brighter colours. Using a gentle liquid washing detergent like Born Good that activates at room temperature and leaves your clothes feeling fresh after each wash. Besides, water at normal temperature is good for our planet, clothes and energy bills.
Get Your Hands on Biodegradable Detergents
Everybody loves the scented smell of soap in their laundry. You can make a switch from soap to fragrance detergents like the ones from Born good. They are perfect both for clothes and the planet. There are far fewer toxic chemicals present in these biodegradable detergents than laundry soaps.
Dryer Balls
Many times, line drying is not possible. If you end up having to use a dryer, we advise you to toss in some dryer balls with your clothes. This way, your clothes will not clump together and that speeds the laundry process thereby reducing the overall energy consumed.
Besides, dryer balls tend to hit against the fibres, which leads to clothes feeling super soft. What’s better? Alongside speeding up the laundry process, it is also a reusable and cheaper alternative to fabric softeners and dryer sheets.
Choose Line Drying
Dryers use up a lot of energy to produce heat. Line drying is a much better alternative compared to dryers that consume tonnes of energy. This way, you can not only save energy but also preserve your clothes from shrinking and getting damaged. While the UV rays from the Sun are great at bleaching white linens, it is best to avoid drying bright coloured clothes in the sunlight as the sun rays can cause a lot of fading. Thus, we recommend you to line dry your clothes to ensure longevity.
Choose Front Load Washing Machines
It is best to choose a front load washing machine over a top load washing machine. This is because front load machines tend to save both energy and water compared to the machines that need to be loaded on the top. Besides being energy and resource-efficient, front load machines can be a worthwhile investment as they pack in a greater number of features to suit different kinds of fabric.
Make a wise choice and choose sustainable!
