Did you know that every year, we Kiwis use an astonishing 39 billion (yes, BILLION) litres of water for laundry? For perspective, that’s like leaving your shower running for 5,319 years.
Wow.
We may have formulated concentrated laundry products that use less water and require less carbon to produce and freight, but as always, we’re taking things a step further. We’re proposing that Kiwis stop washing their clothes for a day. Because this little bit of good has the power to save 107 million litres of water* from going down the drain, which is enough water to fill a bathtub 766,000 times*!
Here’s what our CEO, Pablo Klaus, had to say on the subject.
“We believe that making small changes to embrace sustainable living sets off ripples that accumulate over time. Our newest initiative, No Laundry Day, aims to create a positive environmental impact by inspiring households nationwide to forgo laundry activities for a day.”
One less load per week = a little bit of good for the planet
The environmental footprint of a garment is reduced significantly by only washing it when it’s dirty or smells. This simple shift in attitude is super important, because laundry is one of the highest water consumption household activities, accounting for up to a quarter of your household water usage.
So why not get on board and give your washing machine a break on 25th August? Your clothes, and your world, will be glad you did.
Ask your friends to get on-board.
PS - The numbers behind our numbers
1. There are approximately 1,554,300 washing machines in New Zealand according to the latest available figures.
2. Based on the Energy Efficiency (Energy Using Products) Regulations 2002 it’s assumed a washing machine has 365 uses a year.
3. There are approximately 567,319,500 domestic machine loads done each year in New Zealand (Number of washing machines * Number of times each machine is run per year).
4. An average 4.5 star washing machine will use about 69 litres per load.
5. New Zealanders use an estimated 39,145,045,500 litres of water each year on washing laundry (567,319,500 washes * 69 litres per load).
6. New Zealanders use an estimated 107,246,700 litres of water per day on washing. (39,145,045,500 / 365).
7. A best estimate of the common flow rate of showers being installed in New Zealand is about 14 litres per minute
8. An average bathtub is estimated to hold 140 litres of water. We divided the daily water usage by the capacity of a single bathtub: 107,246,700 litres (daily water usage) / 140 litres per bathtub = 766,047 bathtubs.