Have you ever thought about washing your clothes ecologically ?
In an era in which we question our daily habits to shift towards ecological and sustainable solutions for a better future, today we’ll talk about how we wash our clothes. Have you ever thought about this?
According to a study led by researchers of environmental sciences at the University of California, clothes washing, by hand or by machine, is the precursor of the accumulation of 5.6 millions of tons of synthetic microfibers on earth since 1950 (the beginning of synthetic clothes).
Perhaps have you heard about perchloroethylene? Well, it’s a chemical solvent, quite controversial nowadays, used in dry cleaning. Forbidden in certain European Nordic lands, but still strongly used in the Swiss textile industry, this product is classed, by the International Center of research on Cancer, as a possible carcinogen.
What solutions are available to us ?
EGEN, a Swiss « dry » cleaning shop with a focus on an ecological clothes-washing, suggests us an innovating alternative to the traditional dry cleaning, whose ecological and sustainable approach is acclaimed
How does EGEN achieve its goals?
EGEN uses water and biodegradable products based on natural elements instead of chemical solvents such as perchloroethylene. As a result, no harmful fumes are released, thus preserving the environment and the health of employees.
By adapting to fabrics, thanks to its wide variety of washing programs, EGEN saves 30 % of electricity in comparison to the usual processes.
Its process makes it possible to recover part of the wastewater to filter it, purify it and reuse it four times before disposing of it definitively. This, in addition to consuming 40 % less water than traditional programs, allows a water saving of 50 % per month.
EGEN consumes 3 times less energy by making the washing cycle last only 25 minutes, compared to 1h20 on average for a dry-cleaning cycle. By doing entirely by hand the stain removal, the pretreatment and the ironing, EGEN also promotes ecology.
EGEN avoids the use of plastic by offering reusable covers made from recycled materials.
With its profits, EGEN finances the planting of 500 trees per year. The shop delivers orders without emitting CO2 by using 100 % electric vehicles.
EGEN recovers and cares for clothes to be given to organizations that help the disadvantaged and recycles unusable clothes into plush toys whose sales will finance humanitarian projects.
Each gesture enhances the conditions of our planet
To conclude, the innovative alternative suggested by EGEN allows a great improvement in solving the problem of pollution from textile washing, nowadays too often omitted, while it concerns all of us. Who would have thought that washing their clothes in the machine had such a negative impact on the environment? Well, not much is enough to tarnish our beautiful planet, but it also doesn’t take too much to make a difference! And this is the example that EGEN gives us.
