The case for doing less laundry
- Words by Peppermint
If your dirty clothes pile is perpetually enormous, we’ve got news to make your day: apparently we’re all far too studious when it comes to keeping our threads squeaky clean – and all that over-washing is wreaking havoc on the environment. The upshot? We now have an excellent excuse to skip doing the laundry.
A new Fashion Revolution-led campaign reveals a whopping 25% of each garment’s carbon footprint comes from the way we care for it. Worse yet, 9 out of 10 pieces of clothing end up landfill long before they should – often because over-washing has caused irreparable colour fading, shrinkage and misshaping. Turns out we’re still using outdated care instructions from the 1950s, which have largely been superseded by fancy new washing machines. It means hand washing can actually be a sustainability no-no these days and, equally counter-intuitively, sometimes tumble drying clothes is better for a garment’s longevity than line-drying.
If you buy good quality denim jeans, you could wear them for maybe 10, 20 years. If you know how to look after, wash and care for them, they could live with you forever.
That’s why The Care Label Project, a collaboration between washing machine manufacturers and young fashion designers, has created an entirely new care symbol – Don’t Overwash – to inspire us to wash our clothes less, avoid the harsh and damaging dry cleaning process and use lower washing temperatures.
The project also brought together 16 European designers, who created a spiffy new collection and this lookbook to help us all make sense of just how we should be washing our clothes. Says London’s Han Ates, a Care Label Project collaborating designer, “If you buy good quality denim jeans, you could wear them for maybe 10, 20 years. If you know how to look after, wash and care for them, they could live with you forever.”
Everlasting jeans? Consider us convinced.
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WORDS: KOREN HELBIG
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“We love that we can bring a hint of imagination and whimsy into everyday life by making ordinary objects fun. We’ve learned to appreciate the little wins and to take a moment for each step we achieve.”
Disillusioned by the realities of fast fashion, design grads Emily May and Sidonie Moore ditched clothing for a business that finds fun in the everyday. Enter @TheNonsenseMaker: a collection of unique homewares, fun wall art, greeting cards and more that breathe life into Emily’s illustrations: “I love the idea of taking real-world objects and changing your perspective in a way that brings magic and whimsy into everyday life!”
In issue 64’s feature ‘It all makes sense’, we chat to the Naarm/Melbourne-based duo about their sustainability philosophy, TV re-runs and their commitment to local makers. At stockists now!
Photos: @MeAndMyGirl
#PeppermintMagazine #TheNonsenseMaker #LocalMakers #SustainableCraft
Any New Year’s resolutions on your list? We love this from @OtterBeeStitching - “be brave enough to suck at something new”.
There’s no points for perfection, but you’ll get a trophy for trying. If nothing else this year, take the leap and try something new.
#OtterBeeStitching #Embroidery #BeBrave #TrySomethingNew #EmbroideryArt
Sunday serving suggestion ☀️
Gorgeous photos from @JolieFemmeStore - who make sweet garments from vintage bedsheets.
#PeppermintMagazine #SlowSunday #SwitchOff #Unplug #ReadAMagazine
A toast to the old you 🥂
We wholeheartedly love this post from the brilliant @EmilyOnLife:
“2026: Reinvent, burn it down, let it go (whatever it is). Year of the Snake it up. Exercise your boundaries, exercise your body, take one teeny step every day towards a life that feels better to be in.
But don’t you dare shit on your old self while you do it.
Hold yourself with reverence and tenderness and respect, because you got you this far. You did your very best with the information and tools you had at the time. You scraped yourself together, you made it work, you survived what felt impossible to survive: again and again and again.
You are perpetually in the process of becoming, whether you can feel it or not, whether or not you add it to your 2026 to-do list.“
Some very wise words from @Damon.Gameau to take us into 2026 🙌🏼
⭐️ We made it!!! ⭐️
Happy New Year, friends. To those who smashed their goals and achieved their dreams, and to those who are crawling over the finish line hoping to never speak of this year again (and everyone else in between): we made it. However you got here is enough. Be proud.
It’s been a tough year for many of us in small business, so here’s to a better year in 2026. We’re forever grateful for all your support and are jumping for joy to still be here bringing you creativity, kindness and community.
We’re also excited to be leaping into the NY with our special release sewing pattern – the Waratah Wrap Dress!
How great are our fabulous models: @Melt.Stitches, @KatieMakesADress and @Tricky.Pockets - and also our incredible Sewing Manager @Laura_The_Maker! 🙌🏼
Ok 2026: let’s do this. 💪🏼
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