A few days ago, I received an email from a clothing brand for which I have a tremendous amount of respect. In my mind, they are far ahead of the pack in terms of designing and making “sustainable” apparel. However, the email disappointed me. In fact, I found it to be very misleading to the reader.
The subject of the email was “Designing for a Lifecycle.” That is a topic that I am very passionate about. In the world of sustainable apparel, most companies are heavily focused on materials. It’s all about organic or recycled. But materials are just one small piece of the puzzle. In fact, the production of a garment accounts for only about 20% of its impact on the environment. About 80% of the impact comes from consumer care, that is the washing and drying of the garment. This is something the email points out, stating:
“Do you know what part of a garment’s lifecycle has the greatest environmental impact? Cleaning. More than making, shipping, or disposing of a <brand name withheld> garment, how you wash it leaves behind the biggest footprint.”
The email then goes on to promote a new, plant-based laundry detergent that requires only ¼ the dose of most soaps.
Sounds like a great product to me. I am all about using less. However, the email does not really tell the whole story and is far from transparent. To the casual consumer this email appears to promote the fact that if you use this great new detergent, then you will considerably reduce the impact of your garment on the environment.
While small steps help, the reality is, the huge environmental impact of caring for your garment does not come from the detergent you use. The biggest impact comes from the energy consumed during machine-based washing and drying. Over the lifetime of a typical garment, this is about 80% of its total impact on the environment.
I have no problem with this clothing brand promoting another great product; I just think they should have been more transparent about the real impact of cleaning on the environment. For a great model of full transparency, consider Jeffrey Hollender. Here is a little excerpt from a recent article in the Wall Street Journal titled The Great American Soap Overdose:
“Jeffrey Hollender, wonders why more people haven’t stumbled upon laundry’s big, dirty secret: ‘You don’t even need soap to wash most loads,’ he says. The agitation of washing machines often does the job on its own.”
For those of you not familiar with Hollender, he is the co-founder and Chairman of Seventh Generation, a maker of green household products including laundry detergent. Jeffrey consistently puts the environment first. This is just one more example by telling people they don’t always need your product. Now that is a model of transparency.
In the spirit of being transparent, I have a few little dirty secrets I think I should share:
- When I wash laundry, I probably use way too much detergent. (Becca has to keep reminding me, only fill to line 1!)
- I take longer showers than I should, something I am definitely working on. (Becca tells me that there is a tool on its way that might help me with that.)
- I have a sweet handle bar mustache that makes me feel much tougher than I actually am. (No comment from Becca on this one….)
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m pretty sure I use too much detergent, too. Cool mustache
Thanks Jason!