Should we stop washing our clothes?

[razz]

This BBC article https://www.bbc.com/news/world-48908413 is thought-provoking. It fits right in with the clothes pollution thread earlier.

I rather agree with the information provided. I air my blouses/tops and wear more than once, briefs and socks do get washed after each use, use liquid detergent and cold water. Some other ideas that are new to me though.

A few quotes:
Killing the planet one microfibre at a time
This isn't the first time McCartney has recommended not washing our clothes. In fact, she has long advocated avoiding the washing machine - both for the longevity of the garments, but also because of the impact washing them has on the environment.

Laura Diáz Sánchez, from the Plastic Soup Foundation advocacy group, agrees with this, particularly when it comes to high-street clothes, which contain more synthetic materials such as polyester and acrylic.

"Every time we wash our clothes an average of nine million [plastic] microfibres are released into the environment," she tells BBC News. "The way we wash our clothes affects this, as well as the way our clothes are made - but the more we wash our clothes, the more microfibres are released."...

Leave your jeans alone
Sarah Clayton, head of the Love Your Clothes campaign by environmental charity Wrap, also suggests not washing your jeans, but airing them between wears instead: "If they have a stain you could try spot-cleaning them with water rather than washing the whole garment."

Letting your jeans fester unwashed may sound a bit unsavoury, but one man in the know swears by it - Chip Bergh, the CEO of Levi's.

[ApatheticNoMore]

wouldn't it be easier just to try to buy clothes made from natural materials? I know easier said than done these days, but occasionally one can find them.

[KayLR]

I hardly ever wash my jeans....I'd read that before. The only clothes I wash regularly are undies. I'm too messy to let white blouses and shirts go unwashed.

[Gardnr]

I wash minimally. There must be stubborn stains or smells. Undergarments are the exception.

[bae]

I just wear cotton, wool, and silk.

[Teacher Terry]

I wash my clothes in cold water but towels, sheets, etc in hot water. My little doggies are pad trained so they are washed in hot water with detergent and bleach. I only wear panties and socks once. I wash jeans weekly and my shirts it depends if I sweat or not. I sleep in my pj’s 3x’s before washing. Some of the suggestions in the article were gross.

[catherine]

I'm a minimalist washer. A lot of people I know wash clothes when they bring them home from the store, and I have never done that. I wash my clothes like I water my plants: I observe them and if they need it, I do it. I'm not one to just wash something because it's been worn once--except for underwear.

[KayLR]

I'm not one to just wash something because it's been worn once--.

That's something that drives me nuts about my daughter and grandkids....they always have TONS of laundry because they never wear anything twice without throwing it in the hamper (pile). Whether it's dirty or not. Most of it's not!

[SteveinMN]

wouldn't it be easier just to try to buy clothes made from natural materials?

As far as I've seen, most jeans are still all-cotton. I mess up all fabrics equally.

We wash stuff when it's dirty. For undergarments, that's after one wearing, though if I know my next day will start with some messy project before I bathe, I'll re-wear the old stuff while I'm getting messy and sweaty in the set of clothes I keep for getting messy and sweaty in. Then I'll shower and change into regular clothes. I don't see a real point to wasting clean undergarments on a dirty job when I know it's coming. Pants, shirts, jackets -- all are washed when they appear to be dirty or known to be sweaty. Towels typically last us half a week before they see the laundry pile.

Our kids must change clothes a few times a day and nothing is ever re-worn. Then, of course, there are the grandkid toddlers, who generate a lot of laundry with oopses and accidents. Each person in that family has more clothes individually than DW and I do put together. They must do at least one load of laundry a day in their house in a big honkin' washing machine. *sigh*

[Yppej]

I do the sniff test on clothes when I undress and no way is air drying going to cut it when temperatures are in the 90's and humid.