In a recent interview for The Observer, Stella McCartney stated that she was not a fan of washing
clothes, especially underwear, proudly declaring that she can safely wear her bra several times
without washing it.
Her three-year experience at Savile Row, the famous London street where she was studying to
become a bespoke tailor, has certainly helped her to formulate her thoughts about washing. In fact,
custom-made suits were not washed at all, on the contrary, they let the dirt dry and then they
brushed it off.
The British designer has made of sustainability her trademark, always introducing innovative
systems in her designs to safeguard the environment and to spread a positive message also to other
fashion houses about the possibility of having a supply chain much more sustainable than the
current ones. Her commitment is not limited to work -her stores are equipped with a LED lighting
system and sustainable wood and paper walls, and her offices on Bond Street are decorated with
rocks and moss from the farm in the Mull of Kintyre of father Paul McCartney - but, as
demonstrated in this interview, her commitment embraces also her private life.
To confirm how effectively the washing of clothes is detrimental to the environment, it was Laura
Diáz Sánchez, a member of the Plastic Soup Foundation, who said that some clothes damage more
than others, especially those containing polyester and other synthetic and acrylic materials. She
also recommends washing clothes at a low temperature and using a liquid detergent because
powder detergents create more friction between clothes, which then release more toxic elements; it
would also be advisable to wash less clothes at once, always to avoid more friction.
The same goes for jeans. No less than the CEO of Levi’s, Chip Bergh, said in 2014 that the jeans he
was wearing had never been washed and five years later he told CNN that he had not washed them
yet even though they were ten years old. This choice can certainly seem risky, in reality, this
prevents the color of jeans from fading and its original shapes are preserved.
The positive side of all this is that more and more consumers, especially millennials, are
demanding ethically manufactured products, driven by the urgent need to preserve the
environment and go against unsustainable consumption.
words Ludovica mucci