Consumer laundry practices in <scp>G</scp>ermany

Kruschwitz, Anke; Karle, Anja; Schmitz, Angelika; Stamminger, Rainer

doi:10.1111/ijcs.12091

Cited by 70 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Washing programs and their parameters based on metering data from 100 households in Germany (Berkholz et al [68] as cited in Tables 3 and 12 in Gooijer and Stamminger [70] Table 5. Average wash load and temperature for different washing programs in Germany (n = 2763 wash cycles) ( Table 5 and Figure 8 from Kruschwitz et al [69] These studies show that both the washing temperature and program used vary between fibers. Even though the wool laundry load is smaller than the average load, the energy consumption per kg textiles is still less than the average.…”

Section: Washing Temperature and Programmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…The results show that a cotton cycle was the most commonly used, and that both cotton and synthetics were washed at higher temperature and heavier laundry load than wool and delicates such as silk. Kruschwitz, et al [69] studied laundering habits of 236 German households during a 28-day test period. The households documented all 2867 washing cycles in a diary including weight of laundry and amount of detergents (Table 5).…”

Section: Washing Temperature and Programmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Does Use Matter? Comparison of Environmental Impacts of Clothing Based on Fiber Type

2018

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Several tools have been developed to compare the environmental impact of textiles. The most widely used are Higg Materials Sustainability Index (MSI) and MADE-BY Fiber Benchmark. They use data from production to evaluate the environmental impacts of textiles differentiated by fiber type. The use phase is excluded from both tools. This article discusses whether there is evidence that the use of textiles differs systematically between different fiber types and examines the consequences of comparing the environmental impacts of clothing based on differences in production of fibers alone without including differences in their use. The empirical material in this paper is based on analysis of rating tools and a literature review on clothing use. It shows that fiber content contributes to the way consumers take care of and use their clothing. When use is omitted, major environmental problems associated with this stage, such as spread of microplastics, are also excluded. This one-sided focus on material production impacts also excludes the importance of product lifespans, quality, and functionality. The consequence is that short-lived disposable products are equated with durable products. Comparing dissimilar garments will not help consumers to make choices that will reduce the environmental burden of clothing. We need an informed discussion on how to use all materials in the most environmentally sustainable way possible.

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Section: Washing Temperature and Programmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Washing Temperature and Programmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does Use Matter? Comparison of Environmental Impacts of Clothing Based on Fiber Type

2018

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“…The consumer habit in actual dosing of powder, liquid and tablet laundry detergents was based on a comprehensive study performed in Germany (Kruschwitz et al 2014). In the absence of comparable data for all countries, we assumed that the variability in product dosing measured in Germany was representative for all countries.…”

Section: Responsible Editor: Serenella Salamentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying drivers of variability in life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of consumer products—a case study on laundry washing in Europe

Shahmohammadi

Steinmann

Clavreul

et al. 2017

Int J Life Cycle Assess

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Purpose Variability in consumer behaviour can significantly influence the environmental performance of products and their associated impacts and this is typically not quantified in life cycle assessments. The goal of this paper is to demonstrate how consumer behaviour data can be used to understand and quantify the variability in the greenhouse gas emissions from domestic laundry washing across Europe. Methods Data from a pan-European consumer survey of product usage and washing habits was combined with internal company data on product format greenhouse gas (GHG) footprints and in-home measurement of energy consumption of laundry washing as well as literature data to determine the GHG footprint of laundry washing. The variability associated with four laundry detergent product formats and four wash temperature settings in washing machines were quantified on a per wash cycle basis across 23 European countries. The variability in GHG emissions associated with country electricity grid mixes was also taken into account. Monte Carlo methods were used to convert the variability in the input parameters into variability of the life cycle GHG emissions. Rank correlation analysis was used to quantify the importance of the different sources of variability. Results and discussion Both inter-country differences in background electricity mix as well as intra-country variation in consumer behaviour are important for determining the variability in life cycle GHG emissions of laundry detergents. The average GHG emissions related to the laundry washing process in the 23 European countries in 2014 was estimated to be 5 × 10 2 g CO 2 − eq/wash cycle, but varied by a factor of 6.5 between countries. Intra-country variability is between a factor of 3.5 and 5.0 (90% interval). For countries with a mainly fossil-based electricity system, the dominant source of variability in GHG emissions results from consumer choices in the use of washing machines. For countries with a relatively low-carbon electricity mix, variability in life cycle GHG emissions is mainly determined by laundry product-related parameters.Conclusions The combination of rich data sources enabled the quantification of the variability in the life cycle GHG emissions of laundry washing which is driven by a variety of consumer choices, manufacturer choices and infrastructural differences of countries. The improved understanding of the variability needs to be balanced against the cost and challenges of assessing of consumer habits.

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“…To get to energy consumption in kWh/kg also the load has to be known. In [2] and [15] a mean load of 3.7 kg/cycle is reported, while in [7] and [8] a load of 75 % is mentioned, which is comparable to 3.7 kg/load for a 5 kg washing machine. In Table 7, this load is applied on the data as presented in the tables 2 and 3 to calculate the average energy consumption for washing in Europe in kWh/kg.…”

Section: Europementioning

confidence: 99%

Water and Energy Consumption in Domestic Laundering Worldwide – A Review

Gooijer¹,

Stamminger

2016

Tenside Surfactants Detergents

Self Cite

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Water and Energy Consumption in Domestic Laundering Worldwide -AR ev i ewA literature review was executed to collect data on the resource consumption connected to domestic laundering processes. Data from literature on water and energy consumption were collected. The study focussed on Europe, as for Europe enough date could be collected for a thorough analysis. However, the limited data available for Japan and the USA were also included and discussed. TKT, the Dutch Knowledge Centre for the Textile Care Industry, has executed a review study on the sustainability of domestic laundry processing in cooperation with University of Bonn. The study was aimed to supply TKT and the connected trade associations FTN and CINET with a solid base for benchmarking the sustainability of domestic and industrial laundering processes. Sustainability of laundry processing is a key research focus of TKT, as are laundry process optimisation, textile service and textile materials. The review study was limited to the water and energy consumption in domestic washing and drying processes. The project has focussed on domestic laundering in different parts of Europe and has identified the existing geographical differences in resource consumption. Apart from geographical differences, the resource consumption has been studied as a function of the different washing programs (e. g. low, medium and high washing temperatures). The use of tumble drying equipment or line drying and its effect on the energy consumption were also studied. For line drying a differentiation has been made between outdoor line drying and indoor line drying in a heated or non-heated room. Although focussed on Europe, this study also gathered data from USA and Japan, though less detailed.2 Literature Review 1 Energy consumption in the washing processThe first part of the review is focused on the energy consumption in the washing process. An important point to consider, having a look at the energy and water consumption in domestic laundering throughout the world, are the different types of laundry machines used all over the world. Different machines are in use in different parts of the world. The two main machine types are: Horizontal axis or drum machines 2. Vertical axis or impeller machinesHorizontal axis machines are used in Europe, while vertical axis machines are most widespread in America, Australia and Asia. However, the market share of drum type washing machines is growing throughout the world [1 -6]. Drum type machines use in general less water, but more energy. The energy consumption is much lower for the impeller type of machines, because in most vertical machines the washing water is not heated internally and therefore, the laundry process is performed at low temperature (typically 20 8C). Drum type machines, however, have an internal heating system, so washing normally takes place at elevated temperatures [1 -6]. Detailed information is available for the energy consumption in Europe, but only limited information was available about the energy consumption in Ja...

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Consumer laundry practices in Germany

Cited by 70 publications

References 9 publications

Does Use Matter? Comparison of Environmental Impacts of Clothing Based on Fiber Type

Does Use Matter? Comparison of Environmental Impacts of Clothing Based on Fiber Type

Quantifying drivers of variability in life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of consumer products—a case study on laundry washing in Europe

Water and Energy Consumption in Domestic Laundering Worldwide – A Review

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