Wool Wash: Technical Performance and Consumer Habits

Abstract

This paper discusses consumers’ wool washing habits and the possibilities for improving the laundering process with the aim of reducing the total environmental impacts of clothing consumption. Wool has great potential when compared to other fibres, such as cotton, especially when the energy per day of use is compared to energy per washing cycle. Wool products can be used longer between washing cycles due to the natural soil repellence, some washing can be replaced by airing, and the wool wash programs have lower washing temperatures and shorter washing cycles. Two surveys supplemented with in-depth interviews were conducted to study consumers’ clothing maintenance habits in Norway and Sweden. Results confirm that consumers use woollen products longer between washes than similar products made from cotton. However, there is still a potential to reduce the energy consumption from wool wash further both through technical washing program development and through changes in consumer behaviour.

Reducing environmental impacts from garments through best practice garment use and care, using the example of a Merino wool sweater

“…This study was one of the first of its kind to compare current consumer garment behaviour with best practices based on garment potential and recommended care practices. Wool garments have particular attributes that favour reduced environmental impacts in the garment use phase, associated with odour resistance leading to less frequent need for washing, low washing temperature requirements and suitability for air drying practices (Laitala and Klepp 2016;Laitala et al 2020). While these favourable practices are typically used for wool garments at higher rates than other fibre types, there are opportunities to further reduce environmental impacts, as shown in this analysis.…”

“…Consistent with previous research on the life cycle of garments (Muthu 2015;Yasin et al 2016), the findings here show the use phase was a hotspot for fossil energy demand and water consumption. Across a population, variability in the washing frequency of wool garments is expected in response to factors such as garment use, perceived cleanliness and access to washing facilities (Klepp et al 2016;Laitala and Klepp 2016). Clothes are washed for various cultural and habitual reasons, including ritual, aesthetic, practical and hygienic reasons (Shove 2003;Klepp 2007;Yates and Evans 2016).…”

“…Because consumers often own fewer wool garments, it can take longer to accumulate a wool-specific laundry load (Laitala et al 2012), which may result in less efficient washing machine loads. However, encouraging consumers to air wool garments (Laitala and Klepp 2016) may also help improve washing load efficiency by allowing more time to accumulate a full wool load. Another strategy would be to make up the rest of a wool wash with items made of other fibres as wool washing is typically more gentle than other wash settings and is therefore not detrimental to other fibre types.…”

“…Another strategy would be to make up the rest of a wool wash with items made of other fibres as wool washing is typically more gentle than other wash settings and is therefore not detrimental to other fibre types. This simple step could increase the efficiency rate (Laitala and Klepp 2016).…”

Does Use Matter? Comparison of Environmental Impacts of Clothing Based on Fiber Type

“…Cotton programs allow the whole capacity of the machine to be used, while gentler cycles are suited for smaller laundry loads. For example, for synthetics/easy care programs about half of the total load is usually used, and for the wool wash cycle it is usually recommended that around one-third of the maximum capacity of the machine is used [63].…”