Laundry Sustainability: What It Means and How to Get There

How do we define laundry sustainability? Let's start with what it isn't.

Sustainable laundry is not simply using cold water in wash cycles or low heat when drying. It isn't hotels asking guests to re-use towels. It isn't commercial launderers switching to a more eco-friendly detergent type.

Truly sustainable laundry is much more than that.

When the Department of Energyupdated its standards for power usage in household appliances in the mid-1990s, it changed the way people thought about their laundry. The federally-sponsored Energy Star program started applying its signature star emblem to washing machines, and by 2005 about 15% of U.S. households had switched to energy-efficient washers.

It was a big step forward for laundry sustainability, but it certainly wasn't the end of the road.

Aside from energy usage, a major concern-particularly for the hospitality industry-was water usage. According to the EPA, hotels and other lodging providers use approximately 15% of the total water used in commercial and institutional facilities in the U.S. While the new high-effiency trend was making its way from households to businesses, the focus was on conserving energy, not water.

The problem there is that water and energy usage are inextricably linked in laundry operations. A large percentage of the energy used in commercial and hotel laundry operations is used to heat up the water used in each cycle. Without reducing the water usage, you can only get so far with reducing energy.

For laundry businesses, and hospitality businesses that include laundry operations, true sustainability means considering all sides of conservation-limiting energy and water, as well as focusing on environmentally-friendly processes. It's about finding a holistic solution, not fixing one piece of the puzzle.

Click below to download our free whitepaper on how taking a new approach to laundry can help us preserve one of our most precious natural resources.