Look After Your Clothes and Make Them Last Longer!
There are many reasons why you should think about treating your clothes with a lot more care. Extending the lifespan of your garments will have a direct benefit on your finances and a positive impact on the environment. Fashion manufacturing is responsible for 10% of man-made carbon emissions. Studies have shown that thanks to throwaway fashion fads, 85% of textiles end up in landfills every year. The production processes of which contaminate rivers and dry up water sources.
If you want to take a step in the right directions towards making your wardrobe more environmentally friendly, whilst saving a few pennies at the same time, here are a few simple ideas to incorporate to your consumer fashion habits:
1. Simply try to buy and consume much less.
2. When you do buy, choose better quality garments that will last longer.
3. Support sustainable brands. This means brands that use materials from natural or recycled sources, that use significantly less chemicals, water, energy, pesticides etc.
4. Buy second-hand clothes.
5. Swap or give your clothes away instead of throwing them in the garbage.
6. Improve your way you wash your clothes.
How To Wash Your Clothes
The way you wash your clothes is in fact more important than you may think. First of all choose your brand of washing detergent wisely. We would recommend Vel Rosita as the best liquid detergent for your clothes. It’s a classic Mexican Brand of detergent that is renowned for being gentle on fabrics and helping to keep your clothes in mint condition. So much so their advertising campaigns in the 80’s and 90’s were so popular they became a classic phrase of the times…
“Estrenando? No! Vel Rosita!”
“Is that new? No! It´s Vel Rosita!!!”
The ad campaign basically shows someone getting ready for a date or to go out and when she is wondering what to wear she decides to freshen her dress up with Vel Rosita. When dressed and ready to go out her date comments on her outfit and says Estrenando?´(Is that new?) To which she answers ´No, Vel Rosita!´(No, I used Vel Rosita!!!!
A little corny? Yes indeed, yet it clearly demonstrates the idea that Vel Rosita is a gentle cleaning agent that will look after your clothes and not wear them out in the wash. Due to its PH balance it is in fact ideal for the care of clothes, underwear, delicates, silks, cottons, ties, shirts, etc and its well revised formula is ideal for both natural and synthetic fibers. It contains antimicrobial agents that protect the color of garments, helping to preserve the original appearance of your clothes for longer, giving them a soft appearance and making them smooth to the touch. Its lovely aroma is long lasting and will also make your clothes smell good all day long.
Vel Rosita. A soft and gentle option for your clothes
Try to use less detergent. Overusing can clog up the pipes and cause problems from overspills and soap suds. Detergent can weaken fabrics and strip away color dyes. This is why a gentle detergent is most recomendable. Liquid detergents work better in cold temperatures and leave far less residue on clothes. Fabric softener is optional. We would not advise it for towels as it actually applies a thin waxy coat to your laundry, but on the other hand it does help to reduce wrinkles and avoid static build up. Should you choose to use a softener try out Suavitel.
Every time you wash your clothes in a machine they get worn down, so washing your clothes less often actually helps to maintain them in mint condition for much longer. Obviously underwear and intimate items should only be worn once but other garments could be worn multiple times before washing, especially outer layers if they don’t get dirty or stained. In fact, jeans and denim were originally specifically designed not even to be washed!
Using a cold spin cycle or low temperatures cycles of maximum 30 degrees are much more gentle on your clothes, reducing their wear and tear. Shorter cycles are preferable for the same reason and both these options drastically contribute to reducing their carbon imprint.
Try not to overload your washer. This may sound odd as you might think that by loading it up you are effectively going to wash more clothes in less washes but overloading causes friction and rubbing between fabrics, which will quickly wear them out. The clothes won't wash as well either if the washer is overloaded. Plus the washer will have to work harder as the load will be heavy and you risk damaging the machine.
Wash your clothes inside out. It will avoid the dyed or printed side rubbing with the machine or other garments in the wash.
Whenever possible, air dry your clothes. Machine dryers weaken the fabrics fibers, so air drying will extend the lifespan of your clothes by reducing wear and tear in the dryer. Air drying clothes obviously also uses less energy, hence a more environmentally friendly option that saves you money and you also reduce the risk of garments getting damaged in the dryer should it malfunction.
Air dry outdoors or on a drying rack if possible
For your swimwear, try soaking them in fresh water after each use and we guarantee they will last that extra summer. Whether you use your swimwear on the beach or in a swimming pool, saltwater and chlorine are damaging agents to your swimwear that break down their fibers and elastic. Machine washing will wear out the elastic so hand washing is preferable.
Similarly your delicates should be treated just as that… delicates! Ideally you should hand wash them. Just leave them to soak for a few hours, give them a gentle squeeze and swirl around every now and again and air dry.
Stain Removal
To save having to throw a favorite item of clothing away due to a nasty stain the best thing you can do is to soak them immediately, or failing that, as soon as possible. The longer you leave a stain to soak into the material, the harder it will be to get rid of. Always pre-treat stains before a machine wash. Try using ZOTE Laundry Soap on stubborn stains.
Act fast to get rid of stubborn stains
Stains on delicate ítems of clothing can be more complicated as you want to avoid damaging the fabric by rubbing it too hard and stretching it out of shape. This is what we recommend you do:
1. Wet the fabric with cold wáter and add a drop of detergent (liquid is best)
2. Put another cloth underneath the stained one and press down on the stain (do not rub!) to get it out
3. If necessary leave the stained fabric in water overnight and wash immediately as normal
Adequate Storage for Clothes
Believe it or not the way you store your clothes can also have an impact on their lifespan. Clothes should be stored in a cool and dry space to protect them from elements such as the damp and sunlight. It is also important to not overfill your wardrobe. Color loss and wrinkling can be caused by clothes rubbing together.
When folding your clothes try to fold them as little as possible to avoid unnecessary creases. Folding T-Shirts and heavy sweaters is preferable to hanging them up as they will both sag and stretch out of shape. T-shirts can grow an inch alone simply due to the effect that gravity has on cotton. Hangers also leave unsightly stretch marks. When using hangers for your other garments use a good quality hanger. Wooden hangers will keep the shape of your clothes much better than wire ones or plastic.
Repairing, Reusing, Recycling
These 3 R´s are the final stage towards helping to keep your clothes out of landfills, making them last that little bit longer and saving the planet and your pennies.
Repairing - Learning to sew is a fundamental basic life skill. You can quickly and easily repair a hole in a sock, replace a lost button on a shirt or fix a broken zipper on your pants.
Reuse - When the garment has really seen its best days you can reuse it, for example I use old socks as cleaning rags. My friend chops her pants to make a cute pair of shorts or long tops and sweaters into cool cropped ones. Just use your imagination!
Recycle - Finally, if there is no other choice, recycle. Swap and Exchange your clothes with a friend. Pass kids clothing on to neighbors with younger kids, donate the clothes to charity or dispose of them properly to avoid them going to landfill.
Thanks for caring!
