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Clevercare
To take into consideration the increasing demand for environmentally friendly textile care,
GINETEX has produced a new trademarked symbol 'Clever Care' with a new website
www.clevercare.info.
The GINETEX Clever Care symbol gives detailed information on the technical
content of the symbols and the best practices for sustainable textile care.
Washing & the Environment
Many households are increasing conscious on the effect that their actions may have on the environment.
According to some research, aftercare of a garment - i.e. washing and drying at home, accounts for some 75%
of the energy used in the lifecycle of a garment, so it is not surprising that home laundering is one of
the areas that people are interested in seeing how they can reduce their impact on the environment.
Washing At a Lower Temperature
UKFT always recommends that for best cleaning you wash your clothes at the temperature shown on the
care label. However, in many cases where a garment really only needs to refreshed rather than cleaned it is ok
to wash at 30 °C.
Both the leading detergent companies have advice on washing at 30°C
as do Marks & Spencer. See the following sites for further details:
http://www.persil.com/thirtyDegreesWashing.aspx
http://www.doagoodturn.co.uk/index.php
http://plana.marksandspencer.com/index.php?action=PublicPillarStoryDetailDisplay&pillar_id=1&story_id=35
Drying
Natural drying on a line or rack etc will reduce the amount of energy used in the aftercare process. However,
it is not always practical, especially with British weather, and therefore many people use tumble driers. As
with all domestic machinery buying a dryer that has a good energy rating will help to ensure you are using
energy in the most efficient way.
Water
Water is a precious commodity. In order to help minimize your usage try the following:
Always wash a full load
Pre-washing is not need for most garments
If you have a condenser dry reuse the water - its great in irons |
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