In advice that would seem counterintuitive to selling their own products, Ecover says we need to be washing our clothes less because of the damage it does to the environment.
The company, in partnership with Falmouth University, published a report into the effects laundry washing had on the environment,
The study of 2,000 Britons found that 18 per cent thought laundry had no effect on the environment, while 75 per cent of participants in other recent studies said they felt judged for wearing the same clothes for days in a row.
“For decades, our relationship with laundry has been shaped by powerful cultural forces and advertising that have conditioned us to believe that ‘perfectly clean’ is the only acceptable standard,” said Dr Cui Su from Falmouth University’s School of Communication.
“From the smell of freshly washed clothes to the crispness of fabrics, cleanliness has been presented not just as a necessity, but as a reflection of success.”
Washing clothes negatively affects fauna and flora because of the pollution from detergents, while synthetic fabrics used in modern clothes also contribute to 8 per cent of the microplastics in our environment.
