Unfolding laundry habits: The missing piece of the sustainable fashion conversation

Unfolding Laundry Habits The missing piece of the sustainable fashion conversation

Introduction As the impact of the fashion industry on the environment grows, conversations around how best to achieve a more sustainable future pick up speed.

The increasing public scrutiny on the resourceintensive, polluting and wasteful reality of the fashion industry has put sustainability higher on the agenda than it has ever been before.

From rising demand on brands and manufacturers to adopt more sustainable business models and practices, to the growth of the second-hand market and re-wear, both consumers and industry players are increasingly aware of the need for action within the industry to reduce its impact on the planet.

Both consumers and industry players are increasingly aware of the need for action within the industry.

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There is, however, a piece missing in the conversation around sustainability in fashion: the environmental impact of cleaning and caring for our clothes. Research highlighting the environmental impact of an item during its consumer use

1. Global Fashion Agenda & Boston Consulting Group, Pulse of the Fashion Industry, 2017 2. Polling conducted of 3,000 representative UK adults by Censuswide on behalf of w’air and Hubbub between AprilMay 2021

phase is still lacking compared to other life-cycle assessments.1 More can be done to not only educate consumers on the impact that laundry can have, but to support them in making habitual changes that will help bring about positive impact at scale. Consumers can be aided in extending the life of well-loved clothing through the provision of better care advice and education, as well as through industry innovation that can make caring for clothes not only easier and more sustainable, but better for their longevity.2

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The knock-on effects of such demand on resource use, waste production and pollution across the world is huge:

The Current Climate

ITEMS BINNED WEEKLY

POLLUTION & CHEMICALS

The environmental footprint of the fashion industry has increasingly become a focal point as alarm around the speed of climate change has grown.

Consumption of more and often cheaply produced clothing is high, with as many as two tonnes of clothing being bought every minute in the UK.3

35% MORE LAND

1.2bn

TONNES OF CO2

3. Oxfam, Press Release, 2019 4. Global Fashion Agenda and McKinsey & Company, Fashion on Climate, 2020 5. Ibid.

6. WRAP, Valuing our Clothes: The Cost of Fashion UK, 2017 7. Global Fashion Agenda & Boston Consulting Group, Pulse of the Fashion Industry, 2017 8. Ibid.

9. Ellen Macarthur Foundation, A New Textiles Economy: Redesigning Fashion’s Future, 2017 10. Global Fashion Agenda & Boston Consulting Group, Pulse of the Fashion Industry, 2017 11. Oxfam, Press Release, 2019 12 McKinsey & Company, Style that’s Sustainable: a new fastfashion formula, 2016

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11m

The fashion industry (global apparel and footwear) produces around 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent each year.4 Over a lifecycle analysis, the two key areas of industry emissions are material production at 38%, followed by product use at 20%.5 WRAP report clothes washing and care as accounting for as much as a third of clothing’s total carbon footprint.6

It is expected that by 2023,35% more land will be used for fibre production than is currently used, translating to an additional 115 million hectares.4

Wastewater pollution from textiles manufacturing is significant, with high volumes of polluted water containing toxins being discharged into waterways regularly.9 Excessive fertiliser-use on crops such as cotton often creates surface water runoff that also pollutes rivers and water courses.10

Fashion’s waste problem is increasingly in the spotlight: 11 million items are binned weekly in the UK alone,11 whilst 50% of all clothing made globally ends up in incinerators or landfills within a year of being produced.12 Encouraging consumers to care for their clothes and hold onto them for longer will be an integral part of driving down the industry’s environmental impact.

50%

MORE WATER Textile production uses around 79 billion cubic metres of water annually, a figure expected to rise 50% by 2030.5 Countries like China and India, already suffering from water-stress, will likely feel the impact of this.

Covid-19 hit the fashion industry hard.

Public scrutiny was high prior to the pandemic but has risen even more over the past year as the spotlight has been shone on broken supply chains, piles of unsold stock being wasted and workers losing out on pay.

It is within this climate that demands for a more equitable and sustainable fashion industry have grown and in which signs of positive change have started to be seen.

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Signs of Change

57% of people in the UK feel more loyal to brands that care about the planet and their employees.13

On a more positive note, as recognition of the fashion industry’s strain on the planet has deepened, positive consumer shopping habits have become increasingly visible. From a growing interest in more sustainably minded brands, to the rise of the second-hand market and other new models such as the rental industry, it appears consumers are beginning to vote with their wallet.

Consumers are increasingly basing brand support on environmental factors…

Interest in sustainability is shaping where consumers shop and how they shop. Polling found that 57% of people in the UK feel more loyal to brands that care about the planet and their employees13.

This is supported by the fact that almost a third (29%) of people in the UK stated that they would be more inclined to shop at a business trying to reduce its impact on the environment.14 Similarly, 28% stated they’d be more inclined to shop somewhere using recyclable, reusable or biodegradable packing, and 27% would be more inclined to support a business trying to reduce their waste.15 This 06 | Unfolding Laundry Habits

sentiment is echoed beyond the UK: ThreadUp research found that 74% of American 18–29-year-olds prefer buying from sustainable brands.16 …and brands recognise this Consumer interest in sustainability has not gone unnoticed by brands. Recent years have seen an increasing number of public-facing sustainability initiatives, from H&M’s ‘Conscious’ Collection and ‘Monki Cares’, to Levi’s ‘Buy Better, Wear Less’ and Burberry’s ‘ReBurberry Edit’.

High-street or designer, brand recognition of consumer interest in sustainability is on the rise.

As a result, it is increasingly common to see big-name brands across the price spectrum releasing consumer-

facing PR activations around the topic.

The rise of the second-hand market and re-wear It is estimated that in five years the second-hand apparel market will have doubled, reaching $51 billion, with the resale sector driving that growth.17 Although global fashion consumption is itself projected to rise (potentially as much as 63% by 203018), it is positive to see more interest in purchasing clothing secondhand. For instance, public polling of UK citizens found that as much as 27% of people regularly shop from charity shops, 18% from vintage stores and 23% from online re-selling platforms.19 Online re-selling platform, Depop, now boasts

over 10 million global users20, and designer marketplace Vestiaire Collective has 9 million members21.

Second-hand clothing is also beginning to appear in mainstream stores and online platforms too: supermarket chain Asda and their clothing brand George have recently trialled selling second-hand clothing in 50 stores, and ASOS. com hosts ASOS Marketplace where consumers can buy and sell preloved and vintage clothing alongside new.

A significant portion of UK consumers recognise the importance of re-wear: the most common thing people do to reduce their impact on the environment is to buy items they

know they will wear at least 30 times, with 28% saying they always do this when shopping for clothes.22 Similarly, 55% of those surveyed stated that they regularly buy clothes they plan to wear at least 30 times.

The more recent growth of rental apps (platforms offering consumers the option to rent items from someone’s wardrobe for a period of time), such as ByRotation and Hurr, also illustrate increased consumer interest in re-wear. Platforms like Rent the Runway and Moss Bros subscription options offer similar services, allowing consumers to rent clothing, but directly from premium brands as opposed to from other consumers. All represent an increase in options available

to the consumer to keep clothing in circulation for longer.

Collectively, the rise in such platforms bolster the circular economy whilst still providing the consumer with choice.

New interests and positive habits As the focus on sustainability in fashion grows, other consumer interests are becoming visible. For example, 67% of people now consider whether the garment is made from sustainable materials to Polling conducted by Hubbub last year also revealed that 9% of those surveyed started to mend or make clothes for the first time showing a positive shift in behaviour to prolong the length of garments as a result of Covid-19.24 This potential behavioural shift towards caring for clothes means that consumers will likely keep clothes for longer.

Combined, these developments and behaviours are a positive step in the right direction.

13 w’air and Hubbub, Polling by Censuswide of 3,000 UK respondents, April-May 2021 14. Ibid.

15. Ibid.

16. ThreadUp, 2019 Fashion Resale Report 2019 17. ThreadUp, 2019 Fashion Resale Report 2019 18. Global Fashion Agenda & Boston Consulting Group, Pulse of the Fashion Industry, 2017 19. w’air and Hubbub, Polling by Censuswide of 3,000 UK respondents, April-May 2021 20. Depop.com 21. Sifted, Vestiaire Collective: is second-hand fashion the future?, 2020 22. w’air and Hubbub, Polling by Censuswide of 3,000 UK respondents, April-May 2021 23. w’air and Hubbub, Polling by Censuswide of 3,000 UK respondents, April-May 2021 24. Hubbub, Polling by Censuswide of 3,000 adults, August 2020

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Laundry – the missing piece of the puzzle It is clear that when it comes to the impact of fashion, the conversation around sustainable shopping habits is growing in volume.

An area often overlooked, however, is the environmental impact of our laundry habits and the knock-on effect of how long our clothes last. This integral part of the consumer-use phase (wear and end-of-lifemanagement) is often underacknowledged compared to discussions around materials, processing, manufacturing and retail.

The impact our laundry habits have on resource-use, pollution and waste is immense: Water use: 9% of household water consumption in the UK is down to washing machine use, with 08 | Unfolding Laundry Habits

on average 50 litres of water being used per cycle. It is estimated that UK households use the washing machine between 4 and 4.7 times a week.25 Energy use and equivalent CO2 production: Globally, the way we wash and dry our clothes and the regularity at which we do so is thought to account for an enormous 120 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent.26 Researchers from Arizona State University state that one load of laundry (when washed at 60°C and then dried in a washerdryer) produces 3.3kg in CO2 equivalent.27 WRAP suggests

Chemical pollution Our laundry habits can also have polluting effects. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation raised concern, for example, about nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs) - chemicals used in textiles processing that are released into waterways when consumers wash their clothing after purchase. These chemicals are toxic to marine life and can impact the food chain and human health.32 It is thought an average of 8mg of NPE are released into waterways from each kilogram of clothing washed.33

Dry cleaning brings its own risks of pollution. Perchloroethylene (perc), the chemical used widely in dry cleaning, is a toxic air pollutant and hazardous to people and the environment.

Despite increasing pressure to phase out its use, it’s still the most common solvent used in the US34 and in the EU.35 Concern around the polluting potential of laundry detergents and softeners is also growing, although research on the impact is sparse.

25. Energy Savings Trust, At home with water, 2013 and w’air and Hubbub, Polling by Censuswide of 3,000 UK respondents, April-May 2021 26. Ellen Macarthur Foundation, A New Textiles Economy: Redesigning Fashion’s Future, 2017 – “Calculation based on Circular Fibres Initiative analysis and following sources: Pakula, C., Stamminger, R., Electricity and water consumption for laundry washing by washing machine worldwide (2009); Dupont, Consumer Laundry Study (2013)” 27. Golden et al., Energy and carbon impact from residential laundry in the United States, 2010 28. WRAP, Valuing our Clothes: The Cost of Fashion UK, 2017 29. Napper and Thompson, Plymouth University, Release of Synthetic Microplastic Plastic Fibres From Domestic Washing Machines: Effects of Fabric Type and Washing Conditions, 2016 30. International Union for Conservation of Nature, Primary microplastics in the oceans: A global evaluation of sources, 2017, p.22 31. National Federation of Women’s Institutes, In A Spin: How our laundry is contributing to plastic pollution, 2018 32. Greenpeace, Eleven hazardous chemicals which should be eliminated, 2017 33. See https://www.epa.gov/assessing-andmanagingchemicals-under-tsca/risk-managementnonylphenol-andnonylphenol-ethoxylates 34. US EPA, Problem Formulation of the Risk Evaluation for Perchloroethylene, 2018.

35. CINET, Safe and Sustainable Use of Tetrachloroethylene in Professional Textile Cleaning

by Best Practice Approach Ophemert: CINET Professional Textile Care, 2013

that clothes washing and care account for a third of clothing’s carbon footprint.28 Micro-plastic pollution: Alarm has grown over recent years as the impact of clothes washing on micro-plastic shedding directly into our water steams has become apparent. One domestic wash, for example, has the potential to release as many as 700,000 microfibres.29 It is now thought that textile washings could account for as much as 35% of primary microplastics in our oceans30, and as many as 9.4 trillion fibres could be released from UK washing machines each week.31 Hubbub x w’air | 09

36. Hubbub Polling (2021) 37. Global Fashion Agenda and McKinsey & Company, Fashion on Climate, 2020 reports consumer use at 20% of clothing’s emissions. WRAP, Valuing our Clothes: The Cost of Fashion UK, 2017 reports clothing washing and care as equating to 33%.

38. Nielsen – Global Home Care Report, The Dirt on Cleaning, Home cleaning/laundry attitudes and trends around the world, 2016 39. w’air and Hubbub, Polling by Censuswide of 3,000 UK respondents, April-May 2021 40. Ibid.

41. A.I.S.E, A.I.S.E.’s pan-European habits survey, 2020 42. WRAP, Valuing our Clothes: The Cost of Fashion UK, 2017.

43. Sainsburys, All change! Spring clean will see 235 million items of clothing sent to landfill, 2017

The environmental impact of laundry does not match up with consumer awareness or action In the UK, public polling reveals that awareness around the environmental footprint of laundry is low compared to other areas of public concern around fashion and sustainability.

Almost 2 in 5 people admitted they were unaware of the impact washing clothes regularly had on the environment.36 10 | Unfolding Laundry Habits

This lack of consumer awareness is concerning given that between 20-33% of emissions produced during an item’s life cycle come from consumer usage (washing and care habits).37 Two key areas that reflect a lack of understanding (or lack of concern) around laundry’s impact on the planet amongst the public are linked to washing habits and clothing disposal:

Stain removal plays a significant role in how often consumers wash clothing. Half of those surveyed in public polling stated that they rarely or never spot clean garments (as opposed to washing the full garment) to reduce the impact on the environment when washing clothes.39 The water and energy saving potential of spot washing (whether on stains specifically or on areas such as armpits and collars) instead of washing an entire garment is under-explored yet a key way to bring down the environmental footprint of laundry. Similarly, there is great potential here to extend clothing life by reducing unnecessary washing.

Washing habits: A third of global respondents surveyed by Nielsen stated they do laundry every single day.38 The amount we wash what we own remains one of the key reasons for the size of fashion’s carbon footprint.

Whilst more is being done to try and drive down the temperature at which consumers wash clothes, it is clear there is still more to be done in this area too.

Polling found that in the UK as many as 1 in 5 16–24-year-olds rarely or never wash clothing

at 30°C to reduce their impact on the environment.40 Similarly, amongst European citizens, the average washing temperature is still at 42.4°C, with 32% of people washing at temperatures 50°C and above.41 Clothing disposal: A whopping 300,000 tonnes of clothing ends up in household bins across the UK every year.42 Supermarket brand Sainsburys also found that as many as 75% of UK consumers were intending to throw clothing in the bin in 2017.43 Although efforts are being made to reduce this figure, it is clear there is more to be done to reduce the high levels of textile waste that end up in landfill. Keeping clothing within circulation (through upcycling, recycling, re-wear opportunities and better laundry habits) is key to reducing consumption and to extending the life span of resource-intensive items.

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The Solution Sustainable laundry habits are key to making what we own last, yet this is often overlooked both by researchers and the public. The recent consumer behaviours that are developing around shopping sustainably and re-wear are positive trends, the momentum of which should be built on to ensure that other key areas of clothing’s lifecycle, such as the consumer-use section, is not overlooked.

Predictions around the growth of the second-hand market over the coming years reflect the growing interest in extending clothing life and a desire by consumers to keep clothing in circulation. Polling also highlights consumer desire to extend clothing life, with as many as 55% of UK consumers regularly buying clothes they plan to wear at least 30 times, and 28% of people only buying items they will wear more than 30 times. As such, the fact that more environmentally friendly habits go hand in hand with extending clothing life should be highlighted to the consumer.

By ensuring that consumers care for their clothing in more

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sustainable ways, we can not only enable consumers to hold onto what they purchase for longer but can drive down the resource-use and heavy emissions that this section equates for out of the full life cycle of clothing.

is undoubtedly an interest amongst consumers to learn and adopt better habits.

Whilst there have been some successful campaigns in recent years focused on consumer education, such as Ariel’s “Turn to 30”, Love Your Clothes’ “Know Your Care Labels”, Vanish’s “Love For Longer” and Ecover’s “Laundry Against Landfill”, more needs to be done to support consumers to reduce their carbon footprint through better laundry habits.

Brands could do more to address the consumer-use phase by shining a light on the fact that planet-friendly laundry habits will allow them to extend the life of the clothing further.

Unlike other aspects of sustainable fashion and care tips (such as mending and upcycling) there is a lack of research and educational content available on clothes washing to influence behaviours. As such, there is vast potential to create

impactful social media campaigns and video content to educate the public on best practice. Similarly, there is much room for innovation in technology and laundry solutions to make more environmentally friendly laundry habits easier to adopt and to empower the consumer as a result.

44. w’air and Hubbub, Polling by Censuswide of 3,000 UK respondents, April-May 2021 45. w’air and Hubbub, Polling by Censuswide of 3,000 UK respondents, April-May 2021

51% of Brits would like more information on the environmental impact of washing clothes.45

Public polling found that over half of people in the UK (51%) would like more information on the environmental impact of washing clothes. This reveals that whilst there is work to be done around consumer education on the impact of laundry (with as many as 2 in 5 admitting they are unaware of the impact regular clothes washing had on the environment), there

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Encouraging better habits through behaviour change A third of people in the UK would be willing to wash less frequently to be kinder to the planet.46 This is positive given that one of the easiest steps for consumers to take to improve their laundry habits would be to simply wash less.

With laundry habits equating to as much as a third of clothing’s carbon footprint, encourage consumers to cut how regularly they wash what they own would be a big win.47 Equally, much clothing ends up in landfill due to complaints around clothing being misshapen and having shrunk or faded, which can result from over washing.

Shorter wash cycles with fully loaded washes are also vital in reducing environmental impact. Shorter washes mean less fibre shedding,48 reducing the consumer’s impact on microfibre pollution (which the consumer-phase contributes to considerably). Shorter washes have also been proven to help

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clothes last longer and so will also assist the consumer in buying less and keeping what they own in better condition for longer.49 Temperature reduction, an area much discussed over recent years, is another consumer behaviour that should be prioritised. Washing at 30°C as opposed to 40°C reduces energy consumption by 57% per cycle,50 making this area of behaviour change highly important in driving down energy use across clothing’s lifecycle. The beneficial impact of lower temperature washes on an item’s quality (in terms of fading and shrinking) should again be reinforced to consumers to further change behaviour in this area.51 Overall, reduced washing and drying (i.e. skipping 1 in 6 washes, half of washes being below 30°C and so on) could see an emissions reduction of 186 million tonnes.52

Product advancement, technological developments, and alternative solutions Advancements in the products and appliances available to consumers will be key to extending clothing life and reducing the environmental impact laundry can have. Developments and innovation that have already taken place should be highlighted to the consumer.

Appliance developments Recent years have seen innovation in the efficiency of washing machines, with energy efficiency having increased by 31% from 1990 to 2011.53 The Energy Savings Trust state that when buying a new machine, choosing the most efficient model is key, but also that those machines should be promoted and incentivised to consumers.54 Companies who aim to promote more informed consumer choice (such as Which?) aim to do this by helping consumers identify more sustainable models with ‘Eco-Buy’ labels that highlight more energy and water efficient machines.55

46. Ibid.

47. WRAP, Valuing our Clothes: The Cost of Fashion UK, 2017 48. University of Leeds, Clothes last longer and shed fewer microfibers in quicker, cooler washing cycles, 2020 49. Ibid.

50. Energy Savings Trust, At home with water, 2013

Environmentally friendly cleaning products: Laundry detergent that is good for the environment has become increasingly popular in recent years. Globally, as many as 35% of people now seek detergent that does not contain harsh chemicals, and 32% specifically look for detergent that is environmentally friendly.56 Consumer choice in the UK is growing, with an increasing number of options available to the public that contain more plant-based ingredients that are less harmful on the environment. More innovative options, such as soap nuts and Eco Eggs, are also put forward as alternatives to more traditional detergents.

Stain removal A considerable three in ten people in the UK have thrown away an item because of a stain they could not remove, a figure that increases to 36% of women.57 Such waste highlights the importance of empowering consumers to better manage stains if the amount of clothing ending up in landfill is to be reduced.

Products and tools that make stain removal easier are highly

51. University of Leeds, Clothes last longer and shed fewer microfibers in quicker, cooler washing cycles, 2020 and Which, Washing Machine Temperature Guide, 2021 52. Global Fashion Agenda and McKinsey & Company, Fashion on Climate, 2020 53. The Guardian, Eco appliances: energy-saving hints for washing machines, 2014 54. Energy Savings Trust, At home with water, 2013 55. Which, New Which Eco Buy recommendation reveals most sustainable appliances, 2020

sought after by consumers.

Nearly six in ten global respondents (59%) report that they look for detergents that are the best at getting stains out and a quarter of people see stain removal as the biggest benefit a product can offer, highlighting stain removal as a key focus across the board.58 Nearly six in ten people in the UK (59%) are interested in learning more about effective ways to remove stains from clothing.59 Similarly, 31% would consider purchasing new stain removal gadgets and products to extend the life of clothing, reflecting the potential for innovation in this sector.60 Currently, various options exist on the market to improve stain management. From tips around spot-washing with natural products (like lemon and bicarbonate of soda), stainspecific laundry powder from brands such as Daz and Vanish, to more innovative and recent additions to the market like w’air (a handheld, eco-friendly clothing care device), options available to the consumer are increasing.

There is clearly a strong desire amongst consumers to improve laundry habits to both reduce their environmental impact and keep clothing in circulation for

56. Nielsen – Global Home Care Report, The Dirt on Cleaning, Home cleaning/laundry attitudes and trends around the world, 2016 57. w’air and Hubbub, Polling by Censuswide of 3,000 UK respondents, April-May 2021 58. Nielsen – Global Home Care Report, The Dirt on Cleaning, Home cleaning/laundry attitudes and trends around the world, 2016 59. w’air and Hubbub, Polling by Censuswide of 3,000 UK respondents, April-May 2021

longer. Given that 11 million items are binned weekly in the UK alone, education and innovation around stain management will support consumers to extend clothing life.61

Additional areas of concern Other areas that need more attention include solutions to microfibre pollution from washing and alternatives to dry cleaning.

Textile washing accounts for 35% of primary microplastics entering the ocean currently yet capturing these tiny pieces of material is highly complex.62 Whilst solutions such as the Guppyfriend washing bag and Cora Ball are now available, further research must be done to address the full scale of the issue.63 Dry cleaning is another aspect of consumer care that can be highly detrimental to the environment. Perchloroethylene (perc), widely used in dry cleaning facilities, is toxic to both the environment and to people. As a result, suggested alternatives include wet cleaning and liquid CO2 cleaning.

60. Ibid.

61. Oxfam, Press Release, 2019 62. International Union for Conservation of Nature, Primary microplastics in the oceans: A global evaluation of sources, 2017, p.22 63. Ellen Macarthur Foundation, A New Textiles Economy: Redesigning Fashion’s Future

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Future Trends & Conclusions Fashion’s over-sized environmental footprint is under a microscope. More and more, consumers, brands and governments are recognising the amount of work that must be done within and surrounding the fashion industry if it is to support global climate goals on emissions reduction.

Consumer habits appear to be changing. Support for brands working to reduce their environmental footprint is growing, interest in sustainable packaging and more environmentally friendly materials is visible, and re-wear is (once again) becoming more common. At the same time, the second-hand market is seeing much growth.

Even though consumer washing and care habits equate for such a large portion of clothing’s carbon footprint, this phase is often neglected by the industry and as a result, consumers.64 Whilst positive habits do exist and have been visible in recent years (such as temperature reduction), there is a significant way to go if the environmental

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64. Global Fashion Agenda & Boston Consulting Group, Pulse of the Fashion Industry, 2017 65. Nielsen – Global Home Care Report, The Dirt on Cleaning, Home cleaning/laundry attitudes and trends around the world, 2016 66. Ibid.

67. w’air and Hubbub, Polling by Censuswide of 3,000 UK respondents, April-May 2

impact of this part of clothing’s lifecycle is to be reduced.

Consumers have the potential to significantly extend the longevity of clothing through habitual change. Washing less, on shorter but fuller loads and at lower temperatures are straightforward improvements that can be taken. Consumers want to know more about how they can reduce the impact of laundry – as such, brands should pay more attention to the role they could play across this lifecycle section in terms of education and awareness raising. Similarly, more could be done by consumer bodies, NGOs and governments to offer alternatives and advice.

Innovation is also key. ‘Value is being redefined in the laundrycare market’65: consumers are placing increasing value

on products that bring highefficiency benefits, be that on laundry detergent that removes marks and maintains colour66 or in tools and gadgets that make stain-removal more efficient.67 Innovators should seek to capitalise on the growing consumer-interest around sustainable fashion and use this growing momentum to support consumers with more efficient products.

Educating consumers on the impact of laundry habits and providing alternative behaviours through awareness raising and innovation will make impact at scale more achievable.

Collectively, these steps will empower individuals to extend the life of their clothing, reduce the amount of clothing in landfill, and help bring down the heavy resource and energy-use that laundry is responsible for.

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JUNE 2021