After our clothing has been made and sold, the main environmental impact comes from the way we wash and dry it.

In The Sustainable Fashion Handbook by Sandy Black, the University of Oxford’s Chris Jardine estimates that each washing machine or dryer uses about 10 percent of an average household’s electricity consumption.

Simple options for reducing environmental impacts (and cost) of washing and drying are:

• Wash full loads – the energy required for a washing cycle is the same, regardless of whether the machine is full or empty;
• Wash at as low temperature as possible – heating the water uses most of the electricity required to run the machine;
• Dry garments on a line, not in a dryer – line dry garments outside on a washing line, or inside on a well-spaced clothes rack.  Continue reading →