Caring For Your Clothes - Good for Them, Good For You

After you make the choice to buy eco-friendly clothing from The White Pebble, your positive impact can last longer if you take care of your green fashion with the environment in mind. While there is usually no need to handle eco-friendly apparel differently than your other clothes, making small changes in your habits can reduce waste and help your soft, new clothes last longer.

The following tips will help you decrease your environmental impact, lower your costs, and ensure that your clothes stay comfortable and healthy for your family:

1. Think about your Water
Many people spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars a year making certain the water they drink is safe and healthy, so why not the water we wash with? This question is especially important to consider when you buy environmentally friendly apparel from stores like The White Pebble. Remember, cotton and other natural fabrics are designed by nature to absorb. They can, and do, absorb chemical pollutants from your tap water. Installing a filter on the water line to your washer may also do wonders for your skin and your health.

2. Check your Detergent
Another factor to consider when caring for your eco-friendly fashions from The White Pebble is your cleaning agent. The right detergent will not only be good for the environment and your skin, it will also help your clothes last longer. Use the smallest amount of detergent you can, so that it washes completely away. There are now many environmentally friendly detergent choices on the market that clean your clothes well, smell great, and are healthier for your skin.

3. Watch the Temperature
Laundering and drying temperature not only affect how much energy is used to clean your clothes, but it can also affect the chemical reactions that occur. Heat is a catalyst for chemical reactions between fibers, dyes, finishes, and detergent. For that reason, garments washed in cold water and dried with low heat or on a line will generally last longer and stay softer on your skin. You will also save money by not needing to heat as much water.

4. Efficient Washing
New washers and dryers offer many options for saving money and reducing your impact. Front loading washers require 1/3 to 1/2 the amount of water of conventional washers and are considered gentler on your clothes. Newer machines also tend to have larger capacity, so you can do fewer loads. Many front loading washing machines have an extra strong spin cycle so your clothes come out more dry - requiring less time in a dryer (or better yet, on a line).

Tags: eco friendly fashion, eco-friendly apparel, green fashion, organic cotton