When it comes to sustainable living it’s not all about the things you buy or don’t buy it’s more about how you take care of the things, especially clothes. Even if you buy from fast fashion (everyone has its reasons) you still can make most of the purchases that you have and prolong the life of your garment. Yes, the responsibility of choosing the right materials or production waste and etc are on the brand's side, but when you purchase the clothing item, the ball is in your court! So, what can you do to be more sustainable as the owner of these clothes and especially of linen pajamas?
1. Look for care labels
they not gonna lie, it’s a (not so) secret trick to keep your garment looking neat and new. Not all clothes need to be dry cleaned, as one might think. Many clothes can be lightly washed in the washing machine but everything comes down to the material composition. If there are no care labels, but you know the garment composition. If there is a mix of two or more fabrics, wash by the rules of the most sensitive, like silk-cashmere or etc.
2. Washing and drying your clothes
First of all, colors with colors, whites with whites, just in case you forgot. It’s a common mistake when it comes to ruining your clothes.
Linen - can be washed in the washing machine at low temperature 30°C, use the gentle machine cycle and mild detergent for protection of the fibers. You can tumble dry linen clothes or just hang them. After every wash linen becomes softer and softer if you wash it right. It can be a long-lasting garment, which will never lose its form.
Cotton - can be washed similarly as linen clothes, at low temperature with a gentle machine cycle. But when it comes to drying it depends on the material if its cloth (textile) you can hang it and let it air dry, but if it’s knitwear (stockinette) do not hang it, just lay flat on the surface and let it dry.
Wool - very similar to linen. wool is a delicate material, so sometimes it’s recommended to wash it by hand, but nowadays, ain’t nobody got time for that (haha, kidding). In most cases, you can use a washing machine at a low temperature on a slow cycle. And all wool garments should be dried laying flat on the surface.
3. How often to wash your clothes?
Levis CEO, Chip Bergh, said that jeans shouldn’t be washed in a washing machine. He simply suggests spot cleaning if it gets dirty or hands washing your jeans. Yes, you can enjoy your favorite pair of jeans for longer, even forever and you use less water. win-win. But when it comes to different clothes it’s not that easy. Let’s talk about pajamas, if you sleep every night in a linen pajama, you will want to wash it after 2-3weeks, if you walk all day with that same pajama that you sleep in, you should probably think about a more common washing plan. There is no right answer for this one, and it’s deeply personal for everyone, but the recommendation would be to think twice before throwing clothes in the washing bag after one day “is it really dirty or I just wore for one day and it's perfectly fine?” Fewer washes the longer lifecycle of the clothes are.
There are many tips and tricks for sustainable living, but in my opinion, sustainable living comes from the inside, from being mindful with your time, with your clothes, and with your mind. Be mindful about the clothes you wear and take care of them. Not throw them mindlessly into the washing machine after one worn and then run and buy a bunch more, because “clothes nowadays don’t seem to hold on too long”.