I don’t remember being taught how to do a load of laundry. I was the youngest of five and I’m pretty sure someone showed me how to load the washer…probably my oldest sister… but I never had a laundry 101 kind of experience. Maybe that’s why I’m so hard on my clothes.
As a kid, I’d watch the commercials advertising detergent for “fine washables” and wonder who took the time to wash their nylons in the bathroom sink much less buy a special detergent for them. I’m a swimmer and raised in a house of swimmers and even hanging wet bathing suits to dry on the shower rod bugs me so hanging my “fine washables” in the bathroom just wasn’t an option.
So, like millions of other people, I used to throw all my lingerie and yep, “fine washables” right into the washer. Some of these garments had no chance of surviving the jaws of my old Kenmore and I’d curse myself for being lazy and tossing everything into the same tub like a college student. When I finally bought an updated washing machine, ya know, the kind without the spinner in the center of the tub, I thought my “fine washables” would have a better chance of survival. Unfortunately, I still had to say an early goodbye to some of my favorite “delicates”.
That is until I realized it wasn’t the machine killing off my intimate apparel, but the detergent I was using.
Ok, so I’m a clothing person. I design the stuff and should know better than to throw my bras in with my towels but we’re all busy people and time doesn’t always allow me to separate. I assumed the towels were destroying my delicate under-things when actually, the detergent was. If the detergent was killing off my underwear, what was that detergent doing to my water?
It was at this point I began looking at all the junk I used to clean not only my clothing but my entire home. How could I be the owner of an eco-friendly clothing company when the detergents I used to clean my clothes and my home weren’t even climate safe? I decided to start looking – I mean really looking – at what goes not only into my clothes washer but into my dishwasher, my floor cleaners, my face cleaners and everything else that cleans my home and my family.
Just as we read the ingredients on the labels of our food, we must read the ingredients on the labels of our cleaning products.
What we put on our bodies is just as important as what we put into our bodies.
Below are some of our favorite companies we support to clean our laundry, our home and ourselves:
I’m going to say it again – We MUST SUPPORT THE COMPANIES THAT KEEP OUR PLANET SAFE AND LIVEABLE for future generations. Now more than ever, let’s wake up and send a clear message to the companies making dirty products (we won’t buy ’em!) and those making climate safe ones (definitely gonna buy them!) that what they put into them and how they run their business is important. Oh and do us a favor, never wash your delicates with the rest of your laundry. They deserve better!
– Germaine Caprio, Company Owner & Designer
Make your clothes last longer!
Here’s some Eco-friendly tips:
MAJAMAS Lingerie Bag
Made out of our excess fabrics, this recycled wash bag will protect your undergarments and delicate apparel from getting snagged on other items in the wash. It’s great for keeping socks together or for washing visors and hats with Velcro so they don’t grab onto other clothes in the load.
Wash On Cold
Using cold water is more energy efficient! It uses more electricity to heat up water, so unless you’re washing cloth diapers, cold will clean your clothes just as well as warm water. Heat can damage elastics and knits, as well as extract darker dyes faster from clothing, so use cold water to help preserve your favorite blues and blacks!
Hang Dry
Many of our garments can be thrown in the dryer, but we recommend you save energy and hang-dry as many of your clothes as you can!
This process keeps fibers from breaking down quicker and also preserves stretch or elasticity in your clothing. Try setting up a clothesline outside (or inside if you suffer from seasonal allergies or cold winters like we do!) and invest in some eco-friendly wooden clothespins. We have recently designed MAJAMAS clothespins to hold our Picoli Shorts on hangers in Whole Foods stores. A set of two clothespins comes complimentary with your purchase and is intended for re-use at home!
Still skeptical?! This article from the Balance answers pretty much every other concern you may have about line-drying! https://www.thebalance.com/your-line-drying-problems-solved-4039032
WE LOVE
TO HEAR FROM YOU
DO YOU HAVE ANY LAUNDRY TIPS & TRICKS?
Please share your own thoughts with us – let’s get a conversation started in the comments below! Your comment may even win you a free MAJAMAS garment this week!
I always wash in cold water and hang my bras to dry. They last a good long time so I think it’s working! Since I dye silk scarves, I’ve learned to do a hot soak (to remove excess dye) in a dishpan, but then I wash them in cold water. I put about 4 together into lingerie bags. they don’t get all twisted together, and I can put them in the dryer (still in the bag) for a few minutes and iron while damp. I can’t imagine hand washing and drying 20 scarves at a time!
Thank you for your input. We love getting tips from our readers!