Week 9: Get a Load of This

This week, we are continuing to shine the spotlight on a few household swaps that lower our eco-footprint in a big way. We’re taking a closer look at a common chore that the planet likely dreads as much as we do… laundry.

We’re in Hot Water

Procter & Gamble estimates that 1100 loads of laundry are started per second, and that each person in the United States generates a quarter ton of dirty laundry per year. Annually, that equates to 35 billion loads of laundry in North America alone.

You probably already thought about the plastic jug problem mentioned above that is a byproduct of conventional liquid laundry detergent, but did you know that conventional laundry powder packaging comes with its own problems. Many are packaged in boxes lined with plastic, accompanied by a plastic handle, a plastic strip embedded in the cardboard to facilitate opening, and a plastic scoop. As a result, these mixed-material boxes are nearly impossible to responsibly recycle.

While the packaging of laundry detergent creates a landfill burden, the actual ingredients of the detergent create their own environmental issues. Textiles made from synthetic fibers and chemical dyes shed micropollutants during each wash and dry cycle that make their way into the environment. In addition, conventional scented laundry detergents, fabric softeners, dryer sheets, and stain removers contain hazardous chemicals and release volatile organic compounds classified as carcinogens by the EPA. It doesn’t seem like conventional laundry detergent is actually “cleaning” much, does it?

Laundry detergents and laundry stain removers frequently contain alkylphenol ethoxylates, or APEs, which are common surfactants. APEs can damage the immune system, and they’re suspected hormone disruptors, which means they can mimic hormones in the body that regulate reproduction and development. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has also warned that ethoxylated alcohol surfactants, such as APEs, may be contaminated with carcinogenic 1,4-dioxane, which penetrates skin.

Treehugger

A Laundry List of Solutions

We have some great news! There are number a of simple shifts that you can implement into a green routine that keeps your clothes clean:

• Non-Synthetic Secondhands
  When it’s time to retire old, worn-out clothes, look for secondhand replacements made from non-synthetic fibers and natural dyes. This will reduce the microplastics and toxins that get washed into our sewage system when doing laundry.
• Wear More, Wash Less
  The best way to lower the impact of doing laundry is to follow the Five R’s and reduce how often you wash your clothes. Wear clothes and use towels multiple times before tossing them in the hamper. Hot tip: Levi Strauss & Co. created quite a splash a few years back with their “WashLess” campagin, which envourages washing jeans just once every ten wears at most.
• Pre-Treat Stains
  Before throwing your laundry into the washer, treat any stains with oxy boost rather than relying on the hot water setting and/or chemical stain removers. SHIFT sells the powder bulk, so you can reduce energy and landfill burdens simultaneously. No time to pre-treat? Add oxy boost in with your laundry detergent! Check out our cheat sheet to determine the right amount.
• Sustainable Softener
  Add a 1/2 cup of 5% distilled white vinegar to your washing machine’s fabric softener dispenser to relax garment fibers without the lasting film and chemicals from conventional fabric softeners.
• Spin to the Max
  Select the maximum spin cycle setting on your washer to wring out the most water from your clothes, helping them to dry faster.
• Choose Cold Water
  Switching to cold water washes decreases energy usage by 90% and can reduce annual emissions by up to 11 million tons. The energy saved could power the Empire State Building for 444 years. Doing laundry in cold water is also equivalent to driving 421 less miles each year.
• Swap Suds
  You can really make a splash by ditching the hard-to-recycle, single-use packaging by refilling your laundry containers with super-concentrated liquids and powders at your local refill shop. No access to a refillery? Detergent strips and pods are a slightly better alternative to traditional packaging; but note that independent research shows the bioplastic (PVA) used in these products is still making its way into our oceans.
• Dryer Ma’ker
  Clean your lint filter after every load to maximize air flow (and prevent household fires). To decrease your dry time further, swap dryer sheets for a set of reusable wool dryer balls. They keep laundry from clumping, retain the heat they receive on the dryer, and soften your clothes too.

How will you choose to start shifting to a more sustainable laundry routine? As always, we invite you to #shareyourshift with neighbors and friends to keep the wave of low-impact living rolling forward. And don’t forget… Every. Shift. Counts.