How to save the environment: Wash your jeans less often
Don’t launder your jeans as often as you think you should? Don’t worry.
A University of Alberta textile scientist wants people to wash their jeans less often to reduce their average carbon footprint.
“Laundering and the process of fabric care … it uses up water and resources … and energy,” researcher Rachel McQueen told the Edmonton Journal.
On top of that, it damages your jeans, too.
Over a six-month study, McQueen analyzed 52 participants who were tasked with washing their jeans every other day or every 20 days. Those who washed their jeans every two days saw more wear and tear on the fabric and quicker fading.
But not washing your jeans is gross, you say?
Turns out that bacteria growth is no higher if your jeans aren’t washed regularly.
In a previous study done by McQueen, she found that bacteria growth in a pair of jeans that was washed after two weeks was virtually the same as jeans that have not been washed in — wait for it — 15 months.
While she wouldn’t recommend waiting a year to wash your jeans, McQueen hopes people will consider washing them less frequently.
“I think that a lot of people in society, me included, we have a habit of when we deem our clothing necessary to wash,” she said. “For some people that’s ‘I’ve worn it once…’ We wash our clothing more frequently than we need to.”
What do you think? Let us know if you’ll wash your jeans less often by tweeting us @YahooStyleCA.
