The environmental footprint of the fashion industry and its strain on the planet has increasingly become a concern. According to the new report, approximately two tonnes of clothing is bought in the UK every minute and over 300,000 tonnes of clothing ends up in household bins across the UK every year – the equivalent to over 900 Boeing 747 jets. Globally, 50% of all clothing made ends up in incinerators or landfill within a year of being produced2. It is little surprise therefore that almost one in three (30%) admits to throwing an item of clothing in the bin due to a stain they couldn’t remove.
However, attitudes towards fast fashion seem to be changing. Over half (55%) of those surveyed said they regularly buy clothes they plan to wear at least 30 times. With sustainable shopping habits well and truly on the rise, an area often overlooked is the environmental impact of laundry habits and the knock-on effect on the longevity of clothes.
Globally, the way we wash and dry our clothes and the regularity at which we do so is thought to account for an enormous 120 million tonnes of CO2. In fact, around a third of clothing’s carbon footprint comes from how we wash and care for what we own and textile washing is thought to account for as much as 35% of primary microplastics in our oceans. Worryingly, almost two in five (38%) admit they are unaware the impact washing clothes has on the environment.
Clothing ends up in landfill due to becoming misshapen, having shrunk or faded, all of which can result from over-washing. In fact, over one in five (22%) have damaged clothes by washing them incorrectly. One in three (33%) would be willing to wash less frequently to be kinder to the planet.
Half of Brits say they rarely, or never, spot clean garments which leads to over-washing an entire garment excessively. Almost a third of respondents (31%) would consider purchasing new stain removal gadgets and products to extend the life of clothing.
With such a strong desire amongst consumers to reduce their environmental impact and keep clothing in circulation longer, it is surprising to see such limited innovation in the clothing care space, until now. Using pioneering hydrodynamic technology, w’air refreshes clothes between washes, deep cleans delicates and removes stains, dirt and odours from garments and trainers. Rather than throwing everything in the washing machine and hoping for the best, w’air tackles stains and spills, extending the life of clothes whilst reducing water, detergent and energy use.
w’air is a brand new unique clothing care device set to re-imagine laundry. It was developed using pioneering, hydrodynamic technology which was the result of six years of development. Treating stubborn stains, deep cleaning delicates or refreshing lightly worn clothes between washes, w’air uses just a fraction of the water, energy and detergent of conventional laundry. With w’air, customers can extend the life of their clothes by protecting them… and the environment.
w’air launches in the UK for £199 with an exclusive high street partnership with Selfridges during June and then across key European markets and other selected retailers including Amazon from July.
For more information, please visit: https://www.justwairit.com/
