Village Sustainability Newsletter September 2026
SUSTAINABILITY – WORKING TOWARDS THE COFE’S CARBON NEUTRAL TARGET 2030
All white?
Last month I mentioned white laundry and a campaign to keep white clothing out of landfill once it has stopped being bright white, supported by a producer of fabric whitening products. The product is alleged to be environmentally friendly and I'm not here to explore that.
It just got me thinking about laundry in general. I jumped on primary school polo shirts as often required in white, which seems counterintuitive. I have irritating memories of trying to get grass and mud stains out of cricket whites and I'm sure tennis players have similar issues. Chef's whites seem a daft idea too unless we are banning them from using beetroot, chocolate, tomato sauce... Some of these fabrics can be returned to their original pristine whiteness but I find myself wondering why not choose clothing colours which are more appropriate?
Once we have got away from washing visibly marked clothing, we can then think about how often we wash them. Many are guilty of tidying the “floordrobe” quickly by transfer to the laundry basket! A better way is to do the sniff test and if a garment looks clean and smells clean then it is probably clean enough to wear.
Most of us have embraced the 30 degrees laundry message which reduces power required to heat up the water. Cycles take a little longer and especially eco washes seem to take ages, but modern laundry products are formulated to work at low temperatures so we can be assured of their effectiveness.
And what of these products we are using to wash our clothes? First, always check and compare the formulation to avoid falling for greenwashing! Choosing powder rather than liquid means you buy in cardboard, although companies like Thatcham Refillable sell the liquid in bulk using your own containers. I have heard great things of laundry sheets but have not tried them. Check when using pre-dosed laundry pods as the “soluble wrappings” may contain harmful microplastics which get into our waterways. Further, if you are washing anything other than a full load you may be using excess product which is wasteful and expensive, and can reduce the effectiveness of the wash.
Fabric conditioner seems to serve no purpose whatsoever. It is full of chemicals which can trigger allergies and sensitivities, as well as building up on the inside of the washing machine and the fibres of fabrics. In the end fabrics become less soft and towels less absorbent. Fabric softeners also affect fibres by, for example, reducing the fire retardant properties of children's sleepwear and damaging the wicking properties of performance sportswear. Some chemicals used are non-biodegradable and with the added environmental impact of widely used single use plastic containers for these liquids plus transportation requirements, they are not advertising themselves well!
A friend of mine moved to a very hot part of America and was horrid to horrified to find that her neighbourhood had no culture of hanging laundry outside to dry. Locals would simply pull the clothes out of the washing machine and feed them into the tumble dryer. Yet there was no reason, financially and environmentally, to heat up air to dry the washing when there was a free supply of it in the garden! On top of that, tumble drying can damage and shorten the lives of clothes. Who hasn't had a favourite t-shirt develop twisty seams or experienced the straps of an expensive bra curl up? White lines on new jeans never go down well either.
We have no Kansas climate here (although as I write this is it over 38 degrees at Kew!) and particularly in the winter it is hard to dry laundry indoors. My latest discovery is a dehumidifier. This small, relatively inexpensive piece of equipment uses minimal electricity and if used correctly helps to dry your washing indoors quickly without causing damp to the space around it. Honestly it has revolutionised washing in winter! And no, I am not on commission.
Choose your clothes carefully when you buy them, work out what use they will be put to and therefore if your preferred colour is appropriate for that. Can they pick up a few marks from general use and still be wearable another day? Are they good enough quality to last for a reasonable amount of time, and classic enough in style that you will still be happy to wear them in two or three – or 10 - years’ time? What are they made of and will they leach micro plastics into the water system when washed? Will they rot away harmlessly at the end of their life or are they made from fabric that will live longer than you do? Do you actually need another garment?
How often should we wash bedding and towels? Could we stretch that by a few days to reduce the burden on the environment? Even a couple of days added to a 10-day cycle reduces the laundry burden over 15%.
I by no means have all the answers, but as ever I encourage you to ask questions! There are a couple of interesting and informative episodes of Radio 4’s excellent “Sliced Bread” that I commend to you – one in Series 5 released on 2 Feb 2023 and the other released on 13 August 2026 in Series 17 for more information and discussion.
Julia Hoaen