Unfortunately, this generation tends to shop a lot with trending fashion brands that are considered so-called “fast fashion”. Buying cheap clothes is bad for the environment, they are not designed to last long, and they are often made in factories where workers are exploited. More often than not, they have not been made organically either.
If you start spending more money on better quality clothing from sustainable clothing brands, you are no longer supporting those brands that charge less than minimum wage to their workers, you will have better quality clothes and you will be helping the environment.
With fast fashion, no matter how well you wash your clothes, they won’t last anywhere near as long as good quality ones that have been made with care and consideration.
So, once you have found your good quality clothes from top sustainable companies, we are here to show you how to care for them properly so that you can make them last for longer to protect the planet!
Table of Contents
1. Read The Clothing Label
The most important thing to remember when it comes to washing your clothes is checking the label. The label will give you all the instructions on how you need to wash that garment, including the temperature and whether or not it should be put in the dryer at a minimum.
All women’s and men’s fashion brands are different and so are the washing instructions, so checking the label should always be the first step when washing your clothes!
2. Don’t Overwash Your Clothes
One thing that many people do is wash their clothes every time they wear them. However, what is the point of washing clothes if they are not dirty? Washing them more often than they need to is speeding up the process of the clothes fading and becoming weaker. For example, you won’t need to wash a full tracksuit, sweater, jeans, or joggers after every time you wear it.
Instead, only wash clothing when it really needs to be washed. Air wool, cashmere, and cotton to breathe air into them. If your clothes have a stain on them, you still don’t need to wash the whole piece of clothing. You can wash out a stain with your hands in the sink! Only washing your clothes when you need to will make sure that they last longer, it will help the planet and save you money.
3. Have Separate Washes
You need to separate your dirty laundry every time you are going to wash it, mainly into different colours, but also into separate piles if some of the washing is very dirty! The last thing you want to do is mix dyes or end up ruining a lovely blouse if you wash it with muddy work trousers.
Also, have a separate wash for your delicates to make sure that nothing gets caught on any zips or buttons. You could also put very delicate items in an old pillowcase! Keeping things separate will help to prolong the life of your clothes so that you can continue to buy better quality ones when needed.
4. Reduce The Temperature of Your Washing
Not only will reducing the temperature of your washing save money on your electricity bill but it will also help save the planet. Furthermore, it is a great way to ensure that your clothes keep their shape and last much longer. The hotter the temperature of your washing machine, the more damage it can do to your clothes. So, wash everything at 30 degrees Celsius when you can!
5. Use Less Detergent
When using washing detergent, you want to make sure that you don’t use too much washing detergent and fabric softener, as they are often filled with lots of different chemicals that can speed up the discolouration process. You could also look for eco-friendly washing tablets that will help to minimise the damage to your clothing.
6. Air Dry Your Clothes
We recommend that you try to avoid drying your clothes with a dryer as the temperature can easily damage your clothes, as well as the stress the clothing is put under. If you read the label of your clothing, you will notice that many of your clothes won’t be suitable for the dryer.
You might need to use your dryer for things like bedding and towels that take a long time to dry on their own, but anything else can be hung on a clothes maiden! Keep it by a window or pop it outside on warm and dry days to help speed up the process.
To Conclude
The key to making sure that your clothes last longer is by taking care of them properly. If you wash your clothes too much, then you are going to damage them. The same goes with putting them on a high-temperature wash! Making sure your clothes last longer is a great way to protect the planet, so there is no better time to make these small changes for the greater good.
Author Profile
- Online Media & PR Strategist
- Blogger and Educator by Passion | Senior Online Media & PR Strategist at ClickDo Ltd. | Contributor to many Education, Business & Lifestyle Blogs in the United Kingdom & Germany | Summer Course Student at the London School of Journalism and Course Instructor at the SeekaHost University.
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