Do One Thing for the Planet

Our April Do One Thing for the planet is to air-dry our clothes! Spring is well and truly upon us, and summer is nipping at its heels, which means the temperatures are climbing. That isn't much fun in general, but it makes for ideal weather for air-drying our clothes! The carbon footprint from laundry in the US is around 180 million tonnes a year, and 75% of that is from using dryers. There's also a huge financial cost, as the US spends around $9 billion a year on drying laundry. Finally, air-drying causes less damage to laundry from high temperatures and abrasion, meaning items last longer, and hence helps both environmentally and financially. When drying laundry, there are many options for both indoor and outdoor drying, ranging from a string hung between two trees to an airer on a pulley system that can fill an entire ceiling space, and everything in between. If you're only doing this for April, you might simply dry laundry over furniture or a shower rail. If you're feeling very motivated - or very lazy - you might also consider washing items less often by airing them between uses and spot-treating stains, and only washing laundry when you have a full load. Washing on cold also decreases the carbon footprint of laundry by a further 10% with no additional work. Win-win!