Wash less, steam more!

 

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, you not only make your clothes last longer, but also do the environment a great favor. In this blog, we will discuss the environmental benefits of using a clothes steamer. 

 

 

1. Prevent water waste

 

A fact that really shocked me when I first heard it: did you know that you use an average of around 60 liters of water every time you do laundry? Just imagine 60 bottles of cola. The average two-person household does 3 loads of laundry per week. This means that you use around 10,000 liters of water for washing each year. An incredible amount, right? 

Fashion designer Stella McCartney said in an interview with 'the Observer' that she never washes her suits or takes them to the dry cleaner, and even added that you should wash as little as possible. Quite right, because the impact of washing your clothes is, as you can read above, enormous. But should we stop washing our clothes altogether?

It happens so often that we throw our garments into the laundry basket at the end of the day, even though they are not actually dirty at all. Unfortunately, not a very sustainable habit... 

2. Washing releases microplastics

Every wash can release up to 700,000 microplastics, which is extremely harmful to the environment. It is therefore better to wash your clothes as little as possible, and it is not necessary to wash your clothes after wearing them once, with the obvious exceptions of underwear, socks and clothes in which you have perspired heavily. 

But why do we all think this is necessary? The answer is simple: Smart marketing by detergent manufacturers. Mac Bishop, the founder of a clothing brand whose clothes hardly need to be washed, experienced this when he worked for Unilever's marketing team: “The only way to grow a detergent brand is by making people think they need to wash a lot.” 

 

3. Reduce energy and steam consumption 

In addition to water consumption, there is the energy consumption of a washing machine, which is determined 80 to 90% by the temperature at which you wash. The higher the temperature, the more electricity you use. And high electricity 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 all followed Miss Stella McCartney's rule: “If you absolutely don't have to wash it, don't wash it”, we would save the environment a great deal. An alternative way to make your clothes smell fresher is to hang them outside for a few hours, or to steam them. The odors disappear and, as long as there are no stains, you have no reason to wash them.

 

One of the fastest and most sustainable ways to freshen up clothes is by using a clothes steamer. Hot steam eliminates bacteria and removes odors from the fabric. This makes it ideal for freshening up clothes after wearing them a few times, without them being dirty enough to need washing.