Helping consumers around the world care for their clothes

As a sustainability leader in the global laundry appliance industry, Electrolux enables consumers to care for their clothes in a more resource efficient manner.

With around 85% of the environmental impact of home appliances occurring during the use phase, Electrolux focuses on the impacts of its products in homes around the world – as well as the societal value they can deliver. 

Enabling more sustainable living through consumer insight 

"Our washers and driers draw on the latest technologies and features to enable consumers to use less energy, water and detergent," explains Annika Priou, VP Global Brand Development. "Many of our solutions also allow gentler garment care, which makes clothes last longer."

More efficient laundry practices and prolonging the useful life of clothes can help decrease the consumer's environmental footprint.  

"It all starts with insight and understanding into consumer behavior," says Priou. "By understanding how consumers want to live more sustainably, we can provide them with the products that can, for example, help them to reduce the environmental impacts of doing their laundry by making their clothes last longer. This is how we can extend our positive impact in society."

A new laundry product in 2021 that enables consumers to live more sustainably was a "cushion-like" washing machine drum pattern. The drum allows clothes to softly glide on it to provide significantly gentler fabric care by reducing wear and tear on garments. The design is highly innovative and won a German Red Dot design award in 2021. It will be integrated into Electrolux and AEG laundry products globally from 2022.

Another product that was integrated into lower price point platforms to make the technology available to more people in 2021 was our SteamCare washing machine. The SteamCare system allows consumers to refresh their clothes when they do not need a full wash and uses over 90% less water compared to a complete washing cycle. By reducing wrinkles, it also decreases the need for ironing, which together with avoiding unnecessary washing, contributes to making clothes last longer.

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Campaign helps consumers Make it Last 

The Make it Last campaign, which is a global platform that inspires more sustainable laundry behavior among consumers, proved a success in Europe in 2020. In 2021, the campaign was launched in APAC & MEA and North America – reaching consumers across five continents during the year with messages around more sustainable laundry behavior. 

"With the Make it Last campaign, our aim is to increase awareness of more sustainable ways of washing and promote better behaviors while connecting seamlessly to product benefits and features," says Priou. "We know from consumer research that this connection is very important." 

AEG challenges the expected 

A new campaign in 2021 aimed to reflect the brand's proactive approach to sustainability through better laundry habits. Among other things, it aimed to raise awareness of the benefits of steam rather than washing, the use of lower temperatures as well as promote solutions such as AutoDose, which provides optimal detergent dosage to protect clothes from fading while also caring for the environment.

Read more in our For the Better 2030 Goals: 

Make healthy and sustainable eating the preferred choice

Make clothes last twice as long with half the environmental impact

Make the home a healthier place to thrive in, with half the carbon footprint