You may not realize it when you close the lid, but doing laundry has a high environmental price tag. Washing machines and dryers use lots of electricity and water to power their cycles. And a whole host of products, like detergents and fabric softeners, may contain ingredients that are not friendly to our environment.
Even with these devices, you can implement eco-friendly laundry practices into your routine to help reduce their impact.
Wash full loads with cold water
Today’s washing machines have enough settings to make your head spin (pun intended). But one thing you can easily change is the temperature at which you wash your clothes.
Washing with cold water can significantly reduce your environmental impact. While many people may swear by washing on hot or warm to get clothes truly clean, today’s detergents and machines are formulated to wash with cold just as well as warm water.
Another way to practice eco-friendly washing is to run bigger loads of laundry to reduce the overall number of washes. A full load will get your clothes just as clean and make the chore easier for you and our planet.
Dry your clothes outside
If you grew up in the country, like us, you probably remember at least one relative or friend having a clothesline with sheets and towels blowing in the wind.
While clothespins are mostly used for chip bags now, getting a little nostalgic with your clothes-drying may be a good practice.
According to Colorado State University, air-drying clothes reduces our carbon footprint by 67%. And while you may not have space for an outdoor clothesline, you can buy clothes racks to use indoors or even on your deck or porch.
Use environmentally friendly detergents and dryer products
Detergents are one of the most taxing parts of the laundry process. They typically come in large plastic jugs and often contain lots of chemicals.
More brands are transitioning to eco-friendly ingredients, which you can find when looking at the bottle in the store. But there are ways to move away from using bottled detergent altogether.
Several options are available, including laundry tablets, sheets, and powders. Our store has laundry sheets that can wash up to 100 loads.
If you like dryer sheets, you can replace those single-use items with reusable dryer balls, which we also carry in-store.
Wash less often
There aren’t many better ways to reduce the environmental impact of laundry than by washing fewer clothes. We totally understand that some clothes need to be washed regularly or after one use. But there are plenty of garments that can be washed less frequently. Jeans are a great example, as are jackets and other items that aren’t used everyday.
Not only will washing less reduce your carbon footprint, but it can also be good for your clothes and make them last longer.
Laundry is just one way to take better care of the planet
We can all find ways to take better care of our environment in our daily lives. We care deeply about this because we grew up outside and were taught to love the land. So, we work hard to source products that are natural and local. You can find all of these online or in our shop in Camden. See our laundry products below.
