Ecover and Lily Cole partner to urge Brits to stop over-washing and start rewearing

In partnership with Falmouth University, Ecover reveals the nation’s laundry habits shaped by years of misinformation and highlights greener alternatives

Ecover has partnered with supermodel, writer, and sustainability advocate Lily Cole to launch its new ‘Rewearing is Caring’ campaign. The activity is designed to encourage Brits to rethink their laundry habits by rewearing outfits and washing clothes less to help reduce the environmental impact of overwashing.

The campaign is underpinned by findings from Ecover’s inaugural ‘Home ECOnomics Report’ developed in partnership with Falmouth University. Commissioned to explore the UK’s laundry habits, the report reveals how Brits wash clothes, their everyday practices and the cultural and advertising influences shaping those routines – many of which have significant environmental impacts, including energy and water consumption, toxic chemical runoff from detergents, and microplastic shedding from washing machines.

The eco-cleaning pioneer’s report reveals how deeply cultural and social expectations have shaped Britain’s laundry habits. Decades of misunderstanding fueled by misguided household traditions and beliefs have led nearly one in five adults (18%) to mistakenly believe that washing less often doesn’t impact the planet, while one in ten (11%) feel pressured by societal standards to do laundry more frequently, despite being aware of their carbon footprint.

The report found that nearly a quarter (24%) of adults lack confidence in following clothing care instructions and over a third (34%) do not follow them, leading to the unintended impacts of over-washing such as water waste and contributing to landfill and fast fashion consumption.

Positively, in the last decade, one in five (21%) Brits have adopted greener laundry habits such as increasing the number of wears between washes, with a further six in ten stating they will be willing to change their laundry habits to reduce their carbon footprint.

Backed by the belief that sometimes the best wash for the planet is no wash, Ecover is continuing its mission to celebrate and inspire greener laundry habits such as washing at lower temperatures, choosing more thoughtful yet effective cleaning options and celebrating laundry limbo to ultimately wash less. To help aid those habits, Ecover has also launched the prototype ‘Rewear Chair’ that has been designed to optimally air clothes and aid in unnecessary over-washing. The chair will be revealed at Dutch Design Week (DDW) taking place in Eindhoven from 19-27 October 2024.

Lily Cole comments: “Making fashion more sustainable means rethinking not only how we produce clothing and what we buy, but also how we care for the clothes we own. Washing clothes more mindfully (washing less often, at lower temperatures, and using less chemicals), and repairing clothes when needed, can reduce waste and extend the life of our garments, so clothes can become treasured long term.”

An Ecover spokesperson comments: “At Ecover, our mission is to help the nation wash right, wear more and waste less. Through this campaign, we want to encourage the public to embrace sustainable laundry practices and demonstrate the impact of small, thoughtful choices. Our products with thoughtfully sourced ingredients, including bio-based laundry capsules, demonstrate that effective cleaning can be achieved while caring for the planet.”

Ecover’s commitment to transparency extends beyond its products to its ongoing “Laundry Against Landfill” campaign, where the brand educates consumers on reducing waste and empowering them to make more informed choices in their daily lives.

Ecover’s and Lily Cole opened the doors to “The Capsule Collection”, a pop-up store and panel discussion hosted in partnership with Charity Super.Mkt. Located at 1 Kingsland Road, London E2 8AA, on 26 September, consumers had the opportunity to shop pre-loved styles in-store and learn how to wash and shop less wastefully via a panel of sustainability and eco-conscious fashion experts.

27/09/2024 15:54