Eco-Friendly Clothing Care Tips

Caring for your clothing properly is good for your clothes and the environment. Your clothes will last longer and typically less energy will be used in their care. Whether it’s hanging up the clothesline for the first time or buying eco-friendly laundry detergent, following are some tips for taking care of your clothes in an environmentally conscious way.

photo by B Rosen

Caring for your clothes properly is good for the planet

Limit dryer use to save energy, money and your clothes. Your dryer can wreak havoc on clothes fading colors and affecting the quality of the fabric.

Just add salt. Adding just a couple of teaspoons of table salt with your detergent, can make your clothes brighter. If you add a half a cup of salt it will prevent colors from running. To get out yellow stains in white clothing soak them for about an hour in a mixture of boiled water, a tablespoon of salt and a quarter cup of baking soda. Check out how stuff works for more uses for salt with your laundry.

Baking soda added to detergent, cleans, deodorizes clothes and makes them brighter.

Turn your clothing inside out in the washer and dryer. This prevents the outside from getting worn out.

Switch to cold water wash. Doing so not only saves energy but using cold water prevents colors from bleeding or fading which it tends to do with hot or warm water.

Make sure to button and zipper up your clothes. This prevents snags that could ruin your clothes after several washes.

Keep lights, darks and delicate clothing separate to keep colors bright and your clothing in good shape.

Use eco-friendly laundry soap. Detergent that is green is made up of natural materials rather than chemicals and is biodegradable. Most markets now carry these natural products. A few popular ones are made by Method, Mrs. Meyers and Seventh Generation.