You’ve been washing clothes all wrong – this is what you should be doing

If you want to kick up a real stink, tell people how often they should be washing their clothes. A French government-backed organisation has learned this the hard way after releasing a guide outlining exactly how frequently certain garments need to be cleaned. According to the Agency for Ecological Transition (ADEME), the dirty truth is that many of us are probably doing far more laundry than we actually need to. T-shirts, they say, can be worn five times before being consigned to the wash basket. Jeans can last for 30 days (that means about a month of use).

Most controversial, though, is the verdict on gym clothes. If you assumed that sweaty exercise gear would be granted immunity from these rewearing recommendations, you’re wrong. Instead, the guidance suggests that workout attire can in fact be worn three times before being thrown in the washing machine, advice that might raise a few eyebrows (and prompt a few disgruntled sniffs). These new rules haven’t gone down particularly well in France, partly thanks to concerns that they play into old-fashioned stereotypes about the nation’s attitude to hygiene. Right-wing politicians have also jumped at the chance to slam the guidance as the epitome of resource-draining, nanny state bureaucracy.

But it might actually be time to hold our noses and admit that the agency does have a point. Even those of us who try to swerve plastic bottles and always remember to cart around a reusable coffee cup probably don’t think too deeply before loading up the machine and sticking it on a hot cycle. We’re too busy breathing a sigh of relief that we’ll no longer be haunted by the spectre of outfits past, piling up in the corner of the bedroom. Yet the environmental impact of our laundry habit is truly shocking.

Every year, washing machines are responsible for around 62 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gases around the world. In Europe, up to 60 per cent of laundry-related emissions come from warming up the water. Put in more tangible terms, the carbon footprint of washing and drying a load every couple of days over the course of one year is equivalent to flying from London to Glasgow and back, with 15-mile taxi rides to and from the airports.

Taking a domestic flight like that is precisely the sort of behaviour that would earn you tuts and eye rolls from an environmentally minded crowd, but overzealous washing? That’s the sort of behaviour that tends to fly under the radar. And although the profile of eco issues has risen over the past few decades, our love affair with pristine laundry certainly hasn’t faltered. In the UK, annual wash loads increased by 9.6 per cent, from 6.2 billion to 6.9 billion, between 2005 and 2014, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The carbon footprint isn’t the only issue, either. When we throw a load of washing into the machine and kickstart a cycle, friction in the drum causes clothes to shed microfibres. “Certain textiles, particularly synthetic blends, are notorious” for this, explains Sajida Gordon, lecturer and researcher for the Clothing Sustainability Research Group at Nottingham Trent University. Studies have shown, she adds, that polyester, fleece and acrylic garments release the highest number of fibres per wash: in 2016, researchers at Plymouth University found that just one load of polyester clothes can release 700,000.

Microplastic fibres are so tiny that they “often bypass wastewater treatment plants and enter rivers and oceans, harming marine life”, Gordon says. “These microplastics can be ingested by aquatic organisms” – and might accumulate through the food chain. Essentially, if fish are eating it, so are we. Plus, detergents “also have a substantial ecological footprint”, according to Gordon. Many of them “contain phosphates, surfactants and optical brighteners, which can lead to eutrophication in aquatic systems”, she says. In layperson’s terms, that’s a process that occurs when high levels of certain nutrients occur in a body of water, prompting an excessive amount of plants and algae to grow. When this decomposes, more carbon dioxide is released.

Yet even when people are aware of the issues that their laundry habit might be causing, they’re not necessarily willing to change their ways. Last year, a study from scientists at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden, found that the fear of being considered unhygienic and dirty tends to outweigh any environmental concerns. As lead researcher Erik Klint bluntly put it: “Disgust simply wins out.” This is hardly surprising. Cleanliness has always been framed as aspirational, from centuries-old religious ideas about it being a virtue “next to godliness”, to social media influencers recording their intricate household routines for the huge cleaning communities on TikTok.

Sajida Gordon

All this is despite the fact that over-washing can also do more harm than good to our clothes. If you’ve never experienced the heartbreaking sensation of discovering that you’ve inadvertently shrunk your favourite top to Barbie (or Ken) doll proportions or accidentally chucked a bright red sock in with a crisp white shirt, you’ll know just how hit and miss washing can be. But it’s not just about glaring disasters like these. Often the damage can be harder to spot. “Frequent washing deteriorates fabrics, causing shrinkage, pilling and structural damage, ultimately leading to a shorter lifespan for garments,” Gordon says. “This degradation contributes to fashion waste, as clothes become unwearable more quickly and are discarded”, ultimately contributing to fashion’s big landfill problem.

The big question, then, is how can we cut down our laundry habit while also, you know, remaining hygienic and not actively unpleasant to be around? Stylist Lindsay Edwards recommends a straightforward test that should stop you from “throwing clean clothes in the laundry bin out of habit”: use your nose. “If your clothes smell fresh after wear and look clean, hang them back inside your wardrobe,” she suggests. Simple as that.

Unless your work is messy or you spill something, “if you are washing regularly and using deodorant to prevent sweating, you should be able to wear a garment at least twice before it needs a wash”, says cleaning specialist Heidi Phillips of Tergo Cleaning Services. The obvious exception is underwear, as they’re “the items that absorb the most body oils, sweat and moisture and pick up skin cells along the way” (gross but true). “Items such as jumpers and cardigans can often be worn four or five times when worn with something underneath,” she adds. She doesn’t, however, share the French agency’s views on gym wear. “Clothing such as exercise gear needs washing after each use,” she says. “This is not just because we sweat more when exercising, but because [these clothes] are specifically made from synthetic materials designed to absorb sweat to keep the wearer cool”. Basically, they’re a potential breeding ground for bacteria.

Trying to reduce the amount of loads we’re washing each week is an obvious first step. And there are plenty of other ways we can try to mitigate the environmental impact. Opting for a lower temperature cycle doesn’t just drastically reduce the energy consumption, it also helps cut down microfibre shedding. Plus, “microfibre-catching laundry bags or filters can significantly reduce fibre release,” Gordon says. Swapping to “phosphate-free, biodegradable detergents” can help lessen “harmful chemical pollution”, she adds, as can avoiding traditional fabric softeners altogether (she recommends opting for vinegar-based alternatives).

Airing out clothes you’ve already worn can be an easy, eco-friendly way to freshen them up, and spot-cleaning mucky marks is an effective alternative to washing the entire garment. Phillips recommends using a stain remover bar such as Vanish or “a small amount of washing up liquid gently rubbed into a stain”, opting for cold water rather than hot, as this “can set certain stains, which will become much more difficult to remove”. Essentially, we all need to ask ourselves what’s better – a dazzling laundry pile or a squeaky clean conscience?