How to care for your clothes

How you treat your clothes (be they cotton or otherwise!) is vital to making sure they last and keep looking good. The most sustainable garment is the one you already own - so make your clothing go the distance by adopting some of these simple practises, and when you’re finally ready to replace that worn out T-shirt (hopefully in the very distant future!), we trust you’ll consider joining our Circular Cotton initiative by purchasing a Take Back bag.     

 1. wash cold

Very few garments actually require a hot wash in order to get clean. Not only is it kinder on the planet to run that cold cycle, it prolongs the colour and life of your garments.

 2. wash less

Unless it is noticeably smelly or grubby, you do not need to wash everything after one wear. Revolutionary, we know. You’ll save oodles of water, masses of time and prolong the life of your clothes exponentially by hanging that top back up for tomorrow.    

3. spot clean

We all find ourselves with the odd food stain now and again. Consider spot washing those soup dribbles instead of washing the entire garment (hint: speed is your friend! Getting to a stain before it dries makes clean up so much easier).   

 4. catch those nasties

Like it or not, most of us have some polyester in our wardrobes. By now, we all know that each wash of a polyester garment (including recycled polyester) sends thousands of tiny non-biodegradable particles into our water system and eventually to sea - stop the flood by investing in a low-tech solution. Limit the purchasing and usage of these, but if you have to wash them, we love the Cora Ball!   

 5. freeze. your jeans (and woolies)

Did you know that most of what makes a garment smell a bit funky is in fact bacteria? They love a warm, damp climate, so an effective way to kill the little guys is by popping your clothes into your freezer overnight. Pop those pants into a zip-lock bag and wake up to fresh-smelling clothes without ever having to approach the washing machine.   

6. sort, read, and button up, buddy!

It ALWAYS pays to separate your whites and darks if you want that beautiful white Tui tee to stay glowing. Take a second to read the washing instructions (by law, all garments must have a label telling you how to care for them) and while these instructions can be treated more as gentle guidelines some of the time, chances are specific testing has been done for you to make sure the garment lasts as long as possible. Buttoning, zipping or otherwise closing the fastenings of your garments prior to washing helps avoid them warping during the cycle, as well as stops them from damaging other, more sensitive garments in the load.   

7. get outside, champ!

Sun is king and wind is queen when it comes to drying clothes, there’s nothing like grabbing a fresh tee off the line still warm from the sun . Just make sure you turn garments inside out to avoid fade, and hang in shade where required by the care instructions.   

The most sustainable garment is the one you already own - so make your clothing go the distance by adopting some of these simple practises, and when you’re finally ready to replace that worn out T-shirt (hopefully in the very distant future!), we trust you’ll consider joining our Circular Cotton initiative by purchasing a Take Back bag.