Dirtying Linen: Re‐evaluating the sustainability of domestic laundry

Abstract

In tackling and negotiating responsibility for anthropogenic climate change, governments and businesses are increasingly concerned with shaping 'consumer behaviour', understood broadly as the ways in which people acquire, appropriate and appreciate goods and services. One intervention considered successful in this respect has been that of encouraging the lowtemperature washing of laundry in the UK in the last decade. This paper draws on data from a quantitative survey of laundry practices conducted in Britain in 2013 (N = 1502) in order to situate the intervention, and the phenomenon of low-temperature washing, in its wider socio-cultural context. Our starting point is that laundry habits are a useful example of a household practice in which changes in consumer behaviour have occurred, yet which continue to be increasingly environmentally problematic. Our analysis examines the use of washing machines and the temperature at which people do their laundry in detail; however, it also explores the broader processes through which clothing and other items become designated 'dirty' and go on to become 'clean'. We argue that, in contrast to the well-documented hegemonic position of the washing machine in UK homes, there is much diversity in how households organize the other tasks involved in doing laundry, particularly in separating, sorting and drying, with important implications for energy use. To conclude, we reconsider low-temperature washing as an intervention, and outline some policy implications of a more thorough understanding of how laundry, and domestic consumption more generally, is currently handled in the UK.

Clean laundry with pure conscience—A study on laundry practices among Finnish consumers

“…From the sustainability and ecological point of view (UN, ), lowering washing temperatures decreases energy consumption and consumers courses of action are important in this respect, not only the development of more energy efficient washing machines (Schmitz & Stamminger, ). The heating of water is widely recognized as the most energy‐intensive process taking place in washing machines (Laitala et al, ; Yates & Evans, ). Because textiles are more and more washed for refreshing, and not because they are truly dirty, it could be beneficial to add information to the manufacturers’ care labels, for example to propose lighter washing, that is, in lower temperature with less detergent.…”

“…), which have an effect on the results. Furthermore, for a consumer appropriate drying method seem to be depended on such factors as weather, sensory considerations as well as “freshness” or “fluffiness” of clean textiles (Yates & Evans, ; Yun et al, ). For a consumer variety of choices is vast and therefore material knowledge and information about the washing and drying characteristics of different fiber types could be provided more to help in decision making.…”

“…MIILUNPALO and RÄISÄNEN There are several studies about consumers' laundry habits in Europe, America, Asia, and Australia (e.g., Arild et al, 2003;European Commission, 2007;Hecht & Plata, 2016;Kruschwitz, Karle, Schmitz, & Stamminger, 2014;Laitala, Klepp, & Boks, 2012;Laitala, Klepp, & Henry, 2017;Yates & Evans, 2016). However, in Finland only a few surveys exist, and the most recent was published in 2002 (Aalto, 1998(Aalto, , 2002.…”

Framing Smart Meter Feedback in Relation to Practice Theory

“…For example, air-conditioning has become normalised in many countries, making passive thermal design in buildings more rare [39]. An example related to water consumption is how the frequency of washing bodies and clothes has increased, rendering daily showering and frequent laundering normal practices and thus increasing water consumption [40,41].…”

Cleanliness and consumption: exploring material and social structuring of domestic cleaning practices

“…Mundane household consumption, particularly laundry, has come increasingly onto the international sustainability and domestic resource consumption agenda. For example, see (Laitala et al, 2011;Hustvedt et al, 2013;Kruschwitz et al, 2014;Yates and Evans, 2016). Laundry is a pertinent example due to its resource intensity, arising from water used and disposed of in washing, energy needed to power machines, and chemicals used to remove soils and stains.…”