Ariel and WWF are calling for laundry to be washed at lower temperatures to protect the environment. Now the partners are taking stock.
Everyday life is full of tasks that we don’t like to do: those who cook have to do the dishes, those who shower have to clean. And if you don’t want to leave the house naked, you’ll inevitably have to do laundry at some point. A German does this around 100 times a year, resulting in a total of 18 million tons of laundry – three times the weight of the Pyramid of Cheops.
We also often wash hotter than actually necessary. The average washing temperature in Germany is 42.2 degrees Celsius, as a current survey by the Collaborating Center on Sustainable Consumption and Production (CSCP) shows. For clothes that are just “normally dirty,” 30 degrees is often enough.
“#WirDrehenRunter” initiative by Ariel and WWF
CSCP carried out the temperature measurement on behalf of Ariel manufacturer Procter & Gamble and the environmental protection organization WWF. The background is the joint campaign “#WirDrehenRunter”. The aim of the initiative is to motivate people to “turn down the washing temperature”.
At 42.2 degrees, washing in this country is still hotter than is necessary with modern detergents, according to Procter & Gamble. “#WirDrehenRunter” is already having an impact: at the start of the campaign in spring 2022, the average washing temperature was still 43.2 degrees.
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This adjustment not only protects your wallet, but also nature: the households in which the average washing temperature was measured would have more than 115,000 tons of CO2-Emissions saved.
“This success proves that behavioral changes are possible and can have a positive effect, even in something as mundane as doing laundry, which is mostly automatic,” said Gabriele Hässig, Managing Director of Communications & Sustainability in Germany, Austria and Switzerland at Procter & Gamble .
Goal: Reduce the washing temperature by three degrees
Heike Vesper, Director of Transformation Politics & Economics at WWF Germany, also said: “Washing routines are recurring behavioral patterns that often become established over years.” It benefits the climate and the environment and also brings with it a personal benefit. “In addition to the individual cost savings, clothing also stays beautiful for longer at low temperatures – which also helps to protect resources. Colder washing temperatures should become the norm.”
Colder washing is gentler on textiles. The fibers and colors are less stressed at lower temperatures, which means that clothing lasts longer. This means that clothing has to be replaced less often. This saves resources and thus contributes to environmental protection. Modern detergents reliably remove everyday stains and odors at just 30 degrees and deliver hygienically clean washing results.
The “#WirDrehenRunter” initiative, launched in summer 2022, aims to reduce CO2 emissions by lowering the washing temperature in German households. Specifically, the average washing temperature is to be reduced by a total of three degrees from the original 43.2 degrees by 2025.
Source: Stern
