Wash less, steam more!

At a time when sustainability and environmental awareness are becoming increasingly important, we’re looking for alternatives to conventional appliances that waste energy and resources. One appliance that can play a role in this is the garment steamer. By using your garment steamer more often and skipping laundry loads, you’ll not only make your clothes last longer, but also do the environment a great favor. In this blog, we’ll discuss the eco-friendly benefits of using a garment steamer. 

1. Prevent water waste

Here’s 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 with every wash? Just picture 60 soda bottles. The average two-person household does three loads of laundry per week. That adds up to around 10,000 liters of water used for laundry each year. A staggering 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, adding that you should  wash as little as possible. And she’s absolutely right, because as you can see above, washing your clothes has a huge impact. But does that mean we should stop washing our clothes altogether?

We so often throw our clothes into the laundry basket at the end of the day, even though they aren’t actually dirty. Unfortunately, that’s not a very sustainable habit... 

2. Washing releases microplastics

Every wash can release up to 700,000 microplastics, which are extremely harmful to the environment. So it’s better to wash your clothes as little as possible, and there’s no need to wash them after wearing them just once, except for underwear, socks, and clothes you’ve sweated heavily in, of course. 

But why do we all think it’s necessary? The answer is simple: clever marketing by detergent manufacturers. Mac Bishop, founder of a clothing brand whose garments rarely need washing, experienced this while working on Unilever’s marketing team: “The only way to grow a detergent brand is to make people think they need to do a lot of washing.” 

3. Reduce energy and steam consumption 

Besides water consumption, there’s the energy used by a washing machine, 80 to 90% of which is determined by the temperature you wash at. The higher the temperature, the more electricity you use. And high electricity consumption is -as we know- not only bad for the planet, but also for your wallet.

Conclusion: washing less is better for the environment

If we all follow Miss Stella McCartney’s rule: “If you absolutely don’t have to wash it, don’t”, we’ll do the environment a huge favor. An alternative way to make your clothes smell fresher is to hang them outside for a few hours or steam them. The odors will disappear, and if there are no stains, then there’s no reason to wash them.

One of the quickest and most sustainable ways to refresh clothes is to use a garment steamer. Hot steam eliminates bacteria and removes odors from the fabric. This makes it ideal for freshening up clothes after a few wears, before they’re dirty enough to need washing.