So, I recently purchased a wonderful new washing machine.  Yep, I got a front-loader and it’s amazing.  The machine is so much quieter than my old machine and it uses a lot less water.  I’m in love!  It’s a whole new world coming from a top loader that was 22 years old.  Goodness, was it time or what?  So, after my purchase I was feeling good because I’m going to save money in the long term on water and I’m helping the environment with this purchase.  But, after reading an article from the Portland Tribune on August 12th on washing laundry with cold water, there’s more I can do, or dare I say we all can do!

Journalist Peter Korn asks the question, does cold water actually clean as well as warm or hot (and why does it matter)?  According to U.S. Department of Energy data, “if we all washed our clothes in cold water rather than warm or hot water, we’d save over 50 billion pounds of carbon emissions a year.”  The article also mentions that only “two of 10 people in the U.S. wash all their clothes in cold water.”  A stain test was done at a local laundromat in Portland with Korn and laundry attendant June Sanders.  Sanders tested dirtied towels using both cold and warm water.  She found that with stains like dirt, grass, salsa and lipstick, cold water worked just as well as warm. 

Something else you may want to consider is avoiding laundry detergent with brighteners.  Martin Wolf, a chemist at Seventh Generation (www.seventhgeneration.com) said that brightener detergents “don’t get your clothes cleaner.  They give you the illusion your clothes are cleaner.”  What this means is that “brighteners contain a dye that uses ultraviolet light to make clothing look brighter,” Wolf says, however, “they also evaporate and contribute to air pollution.”  Eek!  It makes you think twice about your next purchase in the laundry aisle, or at least raises awareness about how everyday products like laundry soap (and water temperature choices) can directly impact the environment.  Helping the planet in these seemingly small ways is a bright spot in the otherwise routine task of doing the laundry – at least for me.  Might I add that my amazing new front-loader, while quietly purring in the corner as it washes a load of laundry in cold water, couldn’t agree more!

Green is in.  Helping the world is in.  Fashion is in. So, why not collaborate all three? That’s what Fashionandearth.com did.  This company has it together.  Fashion and Earth purchases only fair trade organic garments and gives 5% of it’s profits to World Vision and WWF.  I mean, wow!  And, the clothing is stylish, reasonably priced and they offer free shipping!  Yes, free shipping!  They also include a “Green Fashion Guide” on their website which includes tips on recycling and reusing clothes, and a guide to learn about eco friendly fabrics.  Discounts are available to shoppers too!  So, here’ s my plug, next time you have the bug to go shopping, try going green and helping the world all at the same time!

Peace out!

From the development stage of The Westin Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, Starwood Hotels considered sustainability. All laundry water is recycled into irrigation for watering the gardens and plants in and around the hotel, and guests will be offered the option of keeping their same bedding for the duration of their stay, to avoid over laundering and wasting water and energy. Additionally, all chemicals used at The Westin Dubai will be biodegradable, and all waste will be sorted and recycled.

The hotel is expected to open in May 2008.