Better living
Make clothes last twice as long with half the environmental impact
We can contribute to more sustainable laundry practices by incorporating innovative solutions that increase laundry efficiency and improve garment care.
2021 Highlights
- Launched of a "cushion-like" care drum that provides significantly gentler fabric care and reduces wear and tear on garments.
- Our "Make it Last" campaign to inspire better garment care among consumers to make their clothes last longer was rolled out in APAC and North America.
- The 50L Home partnership, to reimagine how we use water in our homes, published the "A Circular Water Future" white paper.
Our Goal
Make clothes last twice as long with half the environmental impact
Electrolux has the objective to make clothes last longer and reduce the environmental impact of garment care while caring for all fabrics.
Roadmap to 2030
- Help consumers maximize the life of their clothes and help them better care for their clothes in general.
- Reduce environmental impact during garment care.
The case for action
The fashion and footwear industry combined is responsible for around 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, the number of garments we purchase has increased by 400% in the past 20 years. Research shows that extending the lifespan of clothing by an extra nine months can reduce carbon, waste and water footprints by between 20% and 30%.
According to our consumer research summarized in the 2019 Better Living Report, 69% of consumers agree that increasing the lifespan of garments by taking care of them is the most sustainable approach. However, people often practice outdated laundry care due to a lack of knowledge, time or access to laundry appliances with the most optimal functions.
Consumers are also unwilling to change their behavior for fear of ruining clothes or not getting them properly clean. For instance, despite of being encouraged to wash clothes at 30°C or lower for better results and longer garment durability, nearly two thirds of Europeans (63%), wash at 40°C or higher, according to our The Truth About Laundry study, which surveyed 12,000 adults in 2021.
Water scarcity around the world is an increasing issue with 14 out of 20 of the world's largest cities already experiencing inadequate supplies and two-thirds of the world's population expected to live in water-stressed areas by 2025. In the home, the average daily water consumption per person is up to 500 liters in some developed countries, and laundry is typically responsible for 22% of water used in a typical home in the US.
Our approach
Electrolux products can help consumers to make their laundry practices more sustainable. Consumers need intuitive laundry appliances that help them to best care for their clothes in a more sustainable way. This will help them to extend the lifetime of garments, use less water and detergents.
Reduce the environmental impact
We have long worked to reduce the environmental impact of garment care by making our washers and dryers increasingly energy and water efficient (read more in our Goal Lead in energy and resource efficient solutions).
Going forward, we will continue to develop technologies that optimize laundry processes to reduce environmental impact. We will also guide and inspire people to choose the optimal way of caring for their clothes. By working with partners, we hope to drive this change on a global level.
Longer lasting clothes
We continue to move toward more modern garment care technology that is gentle on fabrics and preserves their quality. We also build partnerships to inspire more people to practice better fashion consumption and care – so everyone can learn to love their clothes for longer.
By working together, we hope to create new standards for how to care for clothes, and methods that are gentler both on clothes and the planet.
Challenges
- Reaching consumers with new information, and changing long-standing outdated consumer laundry habits.
- Increasing the uptake of new innovations in solutions that provide opportunities for consumers to practice more sustainable laundry care.
The progress on our Goal
How we measure progress
We measure our progress in terms of new products, solutions, campaigns and partnerships to promote more sustainable garment care.
Solutions for better garment care
We innovate to help consumers to take better care of their clothes – to make them last longer while reducing environmental impact.
Recent examples of garment care products and initiatives that drive sustainability include:
- New Care Drum – a "cushion-like" drum pattern for clothes to softly glide on – provides significantly gentler fabric care that reduces 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.
- UniversalDose – new detergent dispenser with optimized design and functionality for best efficiency for every type of detergent, including a special compartment for laundry detergent pods to ensure their effectiveness. The solution ensures excellent washing results even with short programs or at low temperatures to reduce energy use.
- ColourCare washing machines – our ColourCare system treats the water in a way that optimizes the detergent even in cold water. Washing in cooler temperatures helps clothes retain their color for longer and reduces energy use. The solution remains essential to our strategy to deliver high-quality products.
- SteamCare washing machines – 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. In 2021, SteamCare was integrated into lower price point platforms to make the technology available to more people.
- CycloneCare / 3DSense driers – the CycloneCare system includes innovative 3DSense technology, which scans deep into fabrics to ensure accurate drying. The technology prevents over drying and maintains the appearance and thermal insulation in down jackets up to 30% better than air drying for example. In 2021, the technology was rolled out to APAC.
- DelicateCare driers – our DelicateCare system adapts the temperature and drum movement to suit specific fabrics, which means that even wool keeps its shape and waterproof garments retain their function. In 2021, progress was made on deploying the technology to our lower price point ranges.
- Microplastic filter – a new filter that can be fitted to any washing machine to capture microplastics. The filter ensures microplastics don't end up in wastewater systems and potentially the environment.
- In 2021, the "Change-Makers" team was created. Made up of eight young people from around the world selected from hundreds of applications. The team aims to develop innovations that promote more sustainable solutions, starting with laundry.
Raising awareness on fabric care
We engage with consumers to help them to look after their clothes in the best possible way. This involves running campaigns to inspire consumers to better care for their clothes and reduce water use.
Make it Last – is our global campaign to inspire better garment care among consumers to make their clothes last longer. It includes branded websites with inspiration and care tips for consumers to choose more sustainable options. Make it Last is built on our knowledge and the specific innovations available in our various markets. Initially launched in Europe in 2020, the campaign was rolled out in APAC and North America in 2021.
Also in 2021, we published The truth about laundry report, which highlights that laundry habits are out of step with modern laundry technology and that there would be significant positive climate impact if we were to update our laundry behavior.
The 50L Home partnership between Electrolux, global brands and NGOs to reimagine how we use water in our homes published the "A Circular Water Future" white paper in 2021. Aimed at influencing institutions and authorities to re-evaluate water use policy around the world, the partnership is establishing pilot homes where various water efficient solutions – including Electrolux products – will be tested.
Next steps
| Roadmap to 2030 | Next steps | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Help consumers maximize the life of their clothes and help them better care for their clothes in general. | Continue to deliver products, solutions and campaigns that help consumers take better care of their clothes. | On track |
| Reduce environmental impact during garment care. | Continue to deliver products, solutions and campaigns that help consumers to reduce the environmental impact of their laundry behavior. | On track |
- On track
- Additional effort is required
- Off track
- Work has not yet begun