Good news: up to two-thirds of clothes’ carbon footprint occurs after you take it home. Which is great because a lot of all the nasty stuff in the fashion industry is in your hands to fix. The extra good news is that it’s not even hard stuff to do. Here are some easy ways to make a difference.
Wash smart
Only wash as needed
Not only will you save water and detergent, your clothes will last way longer. Next time you don’t do laundry in a while, you’re not being lazy you’re just being a super good person.
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Skip the tumble dryer
Line drying your clothes for just six months out of the year can eliminate up to 700 pounds of greenhouse gases annually. Also, hanging your clothes to dry looks super chic and Italian.
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Keep it cold
When you do the wash, set your washer to “cold” to save energy and help your clothes live a little longer (heat can break fibres down). Also, switching from hot water to cold or warm can help prevent 500 lbs of CO2 from entering the atmosphere every year.
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Spot cleaner
If it’s only dirty in one teeny place, exercise that spot cleaner.
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Denim
Consider bagging and putting it in the freezer for a day or two - this will kill bacteria and odors, keep your jeans in better shape and is just a chill way to do laundry.
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Hand wash synthetics
The bad news is when you wash anything made from synthetics—even recycled stuff—tiny bits of plastic called microfibres are shed, which is leading to plastic pollution of our waterways. The good news is clothes will shed fewer microfibres if you gently hand wash them in cold water.