Keep clothes clean at 30°
Apart from the dirtiest loads most clothes don't need to be washed on a hot cycle, and many of them will fare better from a cooler wash. By washing your clothes at 30° your machine uses less power making your wardrobe greener.
The problem
The dials on a modern washing machine can sometimes seem complicated. There are settings for silk, rayon, cotton and wool. There are pre-washes, deep-washes, eco-washes and half-washes, not to mention a dozen settings for spin cycles.
As far as climate change is concerned though, the really crucial setting is the temperature gauge.
Washing our clothes is a toll on the environment. If you wash at 60°C, then 85% of the energy used is to heat the water and only 15% to rotate the drum.
For all but the dirtiest washes, modern detergents are designed to work efficiently even at very low temperatures.
It's time to turn down the dial.
What you can do
We're asking you to pledge to turn down your wash temperature to 30°C.
It may seem like such a small difference but it can really help. Washing your clothes at 30°C rather than 40°C can reduce your washing machine's energy consumption by up to 40%!
Do this, and in just one year the amount of electricity you save will be equivalent to watching 1,400 episodes of your favourite sitcom, or microwaving 1,000 ready-meals.
M&S are helping our customers cut their carbon emissions by printing the message 'Think Climate - Wash at 30°C' on all our machine washable garment care labels.
How to do it
Most modern detergents will work well at 30 degrees, but it's worth checking the packaging.
Sheets, towels, nappies and heavily-soiled clothes will still benefit from a hotter wash, but the majority of washes can be done at 30 degrees with no noticeable loss of wash quality - we know, we've done the tests!
If you want to go even greener, once your wash is completed you should air-dry your clothes rather than use a mechanical dryer. Sunlight and wind are the greenest way to go, but even clothes hung on an indoor rack will save electricity and thus cut carbon dioxide emissions.
Pledge to turn to 30 today and your clothes will be greener, whatever colour they are!
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