Better Care: Enable people to make their clothes last longer and care for every fabric
We aim to help consumers make their clothes last longer and care for every fabric by providing features and functionalities that improve the laundry process.
Care
Clothes. They’re among the most personal items we own. But our wardrobes are contributing to global climate change. Over the past 20 years, we have quadrupled the number of garments we go through.* We also discovered that compounding the issue is the fact that 90% of our clothes are thrown away before they need to be.** Part of the problem is fast fashion—another is aftercare. Due to poor, outdated laundry habits, the lifespan of garments is diminishing. It’s time we changed the way we consume and care for our clothes.
Source: * Fashion Revolution ** AEG Care Label Project
Data from 22.6 million wash cycles, 6 million drying cycles, and insights from 15,000+ adults across 14 European countries, show that consumers want speed, convenience – and sustainability. That’s just one highlight from our latest long running Pan-European report The Truth About Laundry, which this year focuses on drying habits as well as washing.
“We need to see what's already here as our primary resources, rather than continuing to feed the beast.”
Our focus areas
To guide us towards our goal of making clothes last twice as long with half the environmental impact, we’ll work to raise awareness amongst consumers about better clothing care, while developing new innovative care technologies and exploring meaningful collaborations to help get us there.
Our focus areas for Care are:
Longer-lasting clothes
Make clothes last longer by inspiring people on the optimal way of caring for their clothes.
Today, most people have inherited their laundry habits from their parents.* Or they are following outdated care labels that recommend the harshest treatment a garment can handle. *
But times have changed. For example, by using lower temperature cycles — that are gentler on fibers in the garments and help them last for longer.
This helps prevent the huge environmental impact of throwing away clothes before they need to be.
As well as nudging consumers toward modern care habits, we will continue to innovate and develop technologies that care for every fabric and help to make garments last longer.
Reduce the environmental impact of garment care
Prolong the lifetime of garments by modernizing care technology and care habits.
We’ve long been on a journey to reduce the environmental impact of garment care by making our washers and dryers more energy and water efficient. In late 2020, we were recognized as sustainability leaders by the global non-profit CDP for our efforts to tackle climate change and for the first time for protecting water security.
We aim to inspire consumers to adopt more resource-efficient everyday habits. We help to inspire consumers to make more sustainable choices when it comes to the products and cycles they choose to wash and dry their clothes.
These choices can include the Auto Dose function in Electrolux washing machines which allows precise and optimized use of detergent and softener in an automatic process, or the Steam function which relaxes fabrics, reduces wrinkles and makes clothes smoother.
We also have a program to clean clothes efficiently at 30 degrees in under one hour to help busy consumers care for their clothes in a way that is kinder to the planet.
Care for all fabrics
Develop technology to ensure any fabric can be cared for at home.
We know that many people are unsure of how to care for fabrics such as silk, wool, cashmere, sequins and outdoor wear. We try to develop new solutions, technical innovations and fashion industry collaborations so that all fabrics — the ones we have today and those that will come in the future — can be efficiently yet gently cleaned at home.
Explore our actions
We add new actions on an ongoing basis, from innovations and prototypes to industry collaborations, donations, and educational initiatives. Explore our evolving list of completed and ongoing actions.
Better Living action plan
The Better Living action plan by Electrolux Group is a range of actions to support our goals within the domains of better eating, better clothing care, and better wellbeing at home. It also encompasses how Electrolux Group can better its own operations. If you have any questions, please write to us at: sustainability@electrolux.com
© Electrolux Group
Better Living action plan by Electrolux Group
About Electrolux Group
© Electrolux Group