Machine washing clothes has never been this environmentally friendly before. New low-temperature wash technologies and washing machines help wash clothes at 30 °C to significantly reduce the overall environmental impact of cleaning clothes.
Fact is that the largest environmental impact of doing laundry, especially in the Western world, comes from heating the water to wash clothes at temperatures of 40 °C and above. If everyone in Europe turned down the wash temperature from 60 to 40 °C and from 40 to 30 °C, the CO2 reduction would equal the annual carbon emissions from 3 million cars.
“There are big bang sustainable solutions, game changers if you please, and then there are the small efforts that make a significant difference. I do 30 falls under the maximum-effectwith-minimum-effort category,” says Jesper Frederiksen, Brand Manager at Novozymes. “Reduce the wash temperature and save the planet. It’s as simple as that.”
Come on, do 30
I do 30 was launched to present end consumers, politicians, and key decision-makers with proof that technology is available right now to wash clothes clean at low temperatures.
“Reducing the wash temperature is an easy choice for us all to make. It’s a small thing that has a big impact. I do 30 allows everyone to become an everyday hero by making more sustainable choices,” says Mette Johnsen, Sustainability Manager at Novozymes. “By reducing wash temperatures and signing up for our campaign, people become part of sending a message to the politicians that existing technologies can make a tremendous difference – that we must not only focus on carbon quota systems and the long-term systemic changes, but also on the technologies and sustainable choices that exist today.”
Rock 30
I do 30 found a foothold with the youth in Scandinavia during the Roskilde Festival, where nearly 70,000 music lovers came together for four days this July to listen to good music – and Novozymes helped many of these music lovers wash their clothes with an enzymatic detergent that washes clean at low wash temperatures.
“We set up washing machines in the Green Area at the festival, which was a great hit,” says Mette Johnsen. “Of course, it helped that it was very warm and we swapped people’s warm beers for cold beers – playing on the message that going from warm to cold is good. People signed up on our I do 30 facebook fan website and were eager to learn more about our campaign and go back home and put what they learnt into action.”
Marimekko, InWear, By Malene Birger, and I do 30
Adding glamour to doing laundry, I do 30 targeted the fashion-conscious public by teaming up with Danish Fashion Institute to get the I do 30 message out during the ever-popular and glitzy Copenhagen Fashion Week.
Any life cycle assessment of textiles shows that the biggest CO2 impact of textiles is from washing them. So I do 30 geared up to educate fashionistas from around the world about the environmental benefits of washing clothes clean at low wash temperatures.
“We got fabulous results – the I do 30 message was proliferated during the runway shows. During the Copenhagen Fashion Week, 20 clothing stores put I do 30 stickers in the shopping bags so everyone who purchased an item of clothing that week got a teaser of our campaign,” says Jesper Frederiksen.
Social media does 30
Over 10,000 people have become fans of I do 30 on facebook – with more to come. The campaign will continue to live on even past COP15 when the campaign leaders will hand over the I do 30 message to the politicians, asking them to support the technologies and solutions available today that can help people make easy and more sustainable choices in their everyday lives. “This kind of engagement with the end consumer is new to Novozymes, and we believe that by getting this message out, we underscore our
commitment to changing the world not only with our customers, but with everyone who washes their clothes,” says Anders Lund, Marketing Director for Detergents at Novozymes. “So let’s work together to clean the planet as we clean our pants. Let’s all do 30!”
For more information: www.ido30.org
Sign up to I do 30 at www.facebook.com/ido30