At a time when sustainability and environmental awareness are becoming increasingly important, we are looking for alternatives to conventional appliances that waste energy and resources. One of the appliances that can play a role in this is the clothes steamer. By using your clothes steamer more often and skipping washes, not only will your clothes last longer, but you will also be doing the environment a great service. In this blog, we will discuss the eco-friendly benefits of using a clothes steamer.
1. Avoid wasting water
A fact that really shocked me when I first heard it: did you know that with each wash, you average about 60 liters of water with every wash? Imagine for a moment 60 Coke bottles. The average two-person household does 3 washes a week. This results in about 10,000 liters of water consumed by washing each year. Bizarre a lot right?
The fashion designer Stella McCartney told in an interview with 'the Observer' that she never washes her suits or takes them to the dry cleaners, even adding that youshould wash as little as possible. Big right because, as you can read above, the impact of washing your clothes is huge. But should we stop washing our clothes altogether?
It happens so often that we throw our clothes in the laundry basket at the end of the day, when they are actually not dirty at all. Unfortunately, not really a sustainable habit....
2. Washing results in release of microplastics
With every wash, up to 700,000 microplastics are released, which is hugely harmful to the environment. So it is better to wash your clothes as little as possible, and it is also not at all necessary to wash your clothes after wearing them once, with the exception of underwear, socks and clothes that have been transpired a lot, of course.
But then why do we all think this is necessary? The answer is simple: clever marketing by detergent manufacturers. Mac Bishop, the founder of a clothing brand whose clothes you hardly have to wash, experienced it while working for Unilever's marketing team: "The only way to grow a detergent brand is to make people think they have to wash a lot."
3. Reduce energy and steam consumption
In addition to water consumption, there is the energy consumption of a washing machine, and 80 to 90% of it is determined by the temperature at which you wash. The higher that temperature, the more power you consume. And high power consumption is -as we know- not only bad for Mother Earth, but also for your wallet.
Conclusion: washing less is good for the environment
If we adhere en masse to miss Stella McCartney's rule, "If you don't absolutely have to wash it, don't wash it," we will save the environment a whole lot. An alternative to making your clothes smell fresher is to hang them out outside for a few hours, or steam them. The odors go out, and if you make sure there are no stains in it, then you have no reason to wash it at all.
One of the fastest and most sustainable ways to freshen clothes is to use a clothes steamer. Using hot steam eliminates bacteria and removes odors from the fabric. This makes it ideal for refreshing clothes after a few wears, without being dirty enough to be washed.
