Thread Number: 87678  /  Tag: Other Home Products or Autos
Care Tags and Expectations in Different Markets 		[Down to Last]

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Post# 1122412   7/5/2021 at 12:29 (1,024 days old) by mrboilwash (Munich,Germany)        

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I`ve been wondering why in one part of the world or even within the EU a certain fabric has to be washed in cold water whereas in another region it might be safely boiled.
For example Aldi in its home market frequently sells white workwear for doctors and nurses which of course has to be kept immaculate so those clothes are labeled for a 95 °C wash.
Those polo shirts and pants are made of cotton, polyester and or spandex(!), the latter two not exactly known to be generally boil proof.
Aldi and Lidl sometimes sell pillows that can be boiled to kill dust mites which are stuffed with polyester and small pieces of foam rubber which by the way is made of polyurethane just like spandex is.
Swedish based H&M usually suggests a 40 °C or 60 °C normal wash for their clothes whereas the Spanish based fashion retailer Zara always tries to urge me to use a 30 °C or 40° permanent press cycle and no dryer.
All bed linens and towels found at Ikea can be safely washed at 60 °C even if the items are black or of a similar dark color.

Of course there are quality differences like if the fibers have been pre-shrunk and what type of dye has been used, but I think the majority of care tags are based on cultural expectations in their home markets.
That is expectations of cleanliness versus fabric life.
In Spain it seems most important to keep clothes look like new for as long as possible even if it`s fast fashion which is often dumped after just a couple of wearings. A dryer is not a must in this climate.
The Swedes and Germans expect at least 60 °C hot water for sheets, towels and underwear of course with a certain trade in of fabric lifetime.
Americans expect at least a low heat tumble dry to be allowed by the care tag because clothes lines or laundry racks are rare. From personal experience (clothes from Macy`s, Gap and so on) I can tell you guys also seem to accept or at least put up with some shrinkage that comes with a dryer.

What do you think about care tags? Follow them meticulously or use common sense instead?





Post# 1122414 , Reply# 1   7/5/2021 at 12:58 (1,024 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)        

dadoes's profile picture
 
The last set of premium 100% cotton sheets I bought instructs to wash in cold.  As if, LOL.

Post# 1122417 , Reply# 2   7/5/2021 at 13:13 (1,024 days old) by iej (.... )        

I know someone who used to work in fashion design and she said it's about testing rather than anything to do with the fabrics.

If they don't go though the tests they'll slap the lowest common denominator on, which might be 30°C delicate cycle and do not tumble dry.

Zara is very much a fast fashion brand, so I doubt they machine wash test every garment.

It could be somewhat market depend too. I haven't seen anything here suggesting 90°C washes, but plenty of items are definitely able to survive it - particularly good quality bedsheet and towels.

There's been a big drive to get people to wash at lower temperatures for ecological reasons and I suppose because it's assumed that modern detergents work extremely well at those temperatures too.

A lot of clothes I've bought recently from various brands come with suggestions that you don't wash them too often (especially jeans) and use the lowest temperature.

Post# 1122418 , Reply# 3   7/5/2021 at 13:17 (1,024 days old) by chachp (North Little Rock, AR)        
Care tags

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I'm with you Glenn.  I've seen both sheets and towels that are labeled to be washed in Cold water.  I can't imagine.  And you know people wash them in cold because the label says so.
Post# 1122426 , Reply# 4   7/5/2021 at 15:16 (1,024 days old) by CircleW (NE Cincinnati OH area)        

What may I ask is "fast fashion"? Are the items intended to be disposable, such as the paper dress that was the fad in the mid-late 60's?

 

I can't imagine jeans that would have a caution about washing them too often. Common sense dictates they need to be washed whenever they're dirty. Ground in dirt would make the fabric wear more quickly.

 

When I buy clothing I expect the garment to hold up for several years. I have some  shirts and shorts that are more than 15 years old that are still fit to wear.
Post# 1122442 , Reply# 5   7/5/2021 at 18:51 (1,024 days old) by warmsecondrinse (Fort Lee, NJ)        

I've seen boilable hospital mattress pads (3'x3') labelled "Machine wash warm, Tumble dry low. Do not bleach." Seriously?

I gave them a soak in hot w/detergent and Chlorine bleach, then a heavy duty wash with the same. My mother could not believe I'd gotten them so clean. She said she'd followed the directions on the tag. This was a bit alarming as my mother used to know better than to do that.

I've been washing pretty much everything in hot water and drying on high since Covid hit. I only lost some woollens I mis-sorted. Everything else, including my gentlemen's unmentionables, have come through repeated washings with no damage or shrinkage.



Post# 1122466 , Reply# 6   7/6/2021 at 00:15 (1,024 days old) by mrboilwash (Munich,Germany)        

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The term "Fast Fashion" is used for clothing retailers who are known to copy the styles of expensive designer brands with minor changes just to not interfere with copyrights. They are also known for their cheap prices. The quality is often accordingly low.



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Post# 1122483 , Reply# 7   7/6/2021 at 06:26 (1,023 days old) by iej (.... )        

Fast fashion retailers churn out high volumes of fashionable clothes, very rapidly as they respond to tends, but often at relatively lower quality. Some of them are ethical and highly dependent on automated production, others are relying on sweatshops in developing countries.

They’re designed to be on trend, but not for longevity and certainly aren’t environmentally friendly.

They’re creating a deluge of clothing bought by consumers, worn a few times and dumped into recycling or even landfill very quickly and is one area that’s not being adequately tackled. The environmental load from that model of business is enormous. Textile production demands huge volumes of cheap cotton (grown at big environmental impact), endless petrochemicals for synthetics, often dyes and other chemicals that are not handled very well in the places the clothes are being produced, resulting in serious local pollution and because of their high % of synthetics, they’re producing large amounts of plastic microfibres when washed, those end up in sewage treatment and ultimately get into the environment.

If you’re washing mostly cotton and natural fibres, your washing machine isn’t spewing plastic down the drain.

Fast fashion is hugely attractive to consumers as it’s cheap and fashionable and they can change up their look, but it needs to be made sustainable.

Post# 1122485 , Reply# 8   7/6/2021 at 06:30 (1,023 days old) by tolivac (greenville nc)        

I always thought clothing manufacturing could not be automated except for cutting out the fabric parts on knife or laser type machines.Otherwise the parts had to be assembled by people using sewing machines.

Post# 1122488 , Reply# 9   7/6/2021 at 06:57 (1,023 days old) by ozzie908 (Lincoln UK)        
I use the common sense method

 ozzie908's profile picture
All clothing that has come in contact with the outside world is washed at a minimum temp of 50c but I do tend to use the 60c eco cycle it takes longer but never reaches that set temp. Either line dried or dryer and as its miserable and raining here right now its the dryer :)

Austin

Post# 1122489 , Reply# 10   7/6/2021 at 07:01 (1,023 days old) by jamiel (Detroit, Michigan and Palm Springs, CA)        

jamiel's profile picture
I had my eyes opened recently about automation--check out jc-rt clothing...a couple of NYC bear designers came up with the company. They make really nice plaids...individually printed. Literally they print the pieces of each garment then laser cut it out. I've bought several of their shirts for my husband--they're quite beautiful, and they offer very precise sizing. And no waste.



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Post# 1122491 , Reply# 11   7/6/2021 at 07:04 (1,023 days old) by vacerator (Macomb, Michigan)        
In my

young adulthood, if it wasn't wash-n-wear, I didn't buy it.

Post# 1122495 , Reply# 12   7/6/2021 at 09:02 (1,023 days old) by CircleW (NE Cincinnati OH area)        

Thanks for the info guys. I guess I wouldn't be a very good customer of theirs, as I don't care a bit about what's trendy!  
Post# 1122511 , Reply# 13   7/6/2021 at 12:18 (1,023 days old) by iej (.... )        

I’ve been buying T-shirt’s from Son of a Tailor in Denmark over the last couple of years. They’re custom made to fit you exactly, but what I’m noticing is they last and last and last.

The material and sewing is just massively superior to even major upmarket brands of similar price and it’s great to get stuff that is long enough for me and looks well.

I think washing machines and detergents have come a long way too. Admittedly, I’m using a Miele W1 and their sensitive detergent cartridges, but my shirts and T-shirt’s and jeans just do not wear as quickly.

Also find if I just skip the dryer entirely and rack dry, you’re removing a lot more long cycles of tumbling and also seem to manage to avoid ironing too.

Ground in dirt isn’t something I have to deal with. Maybe if you were gardening or doing a lot of messy kitchen work or you had to deal with kids clothes it might be an issue, but it would be rare that my clothes are very dirty or stained, so really the machine is just removing perspiration, oils, maybe skin lotion, traces of sun screen etc.

I find a cooler wash more than adequate and never go beyond 40°C. The machine does an extra deep rinse setting (Water Plus) though as I don’t like detergent on my skin and where I am.

I was towels, especially if they’ve been in a hamper for a longtime at 90°C, with the bleach options set - they get a 6 enzyme profile wash, with a shot of hydrogen peroxide. Never had even the slightest issue of washing machine odours or smelly clothes. Everything is cleaned perfectly.

The sensitive detergent they sell is still a 6 enzyme formula, but almost totally scent free and hypoallergenic and contains no optical brightening agents. I react more to some mainstream non-bio detergent, which is often still very scented (more tending towards baby powder like scents).

Very satisfied with the performance of both the machine and the detergent at relatively mild temps too.

In terms of COVID-19 - any good detergent and through laundering will remove those virus particles. They’re very fragile in reality - just RNA strands in a lipid envelope. They’re not particularly challenging to remove and they are mostly high risk when aerosolised by breathing. The surface contamination risks were overplayed. Risks are more about enclosed, poorly ventilated spaces, recirculating air conditioned air and dense crowds. Hence the usefulness of masks and so on.

Post# 1127318 , Reply# 14   8/30/2021 at 22:08 (968 days old) by MaytagNeptune (FireAlarmTechGuy4444 on YouTube. Interlochen MI)        
Reply #1

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Agreed. My set of full size sheets says "Machine wash cold, Gentle Cycle Tumble Dry low" They're 100% cotton. I say warm water and medium heat tumble dry.

Post# 1127328 , Reply# 15   8/31/2021 at 05:24 (967 days old) by iej (.... )        

You see a lot of labels in Europe that will advise 20°C or 30°C, rather than the usual 40°C. Most of it is just “green washing” by clothing brands or retailers, on their “turn to 30” campaigns. They’ll point to it in some annual report brochure, claiming they’re wonderful, when in reality they could probably be doing a lot more at the supply chain end.

In reality, my water is heated by zero emissions electricity, I’m on a 100% green energy plan, so whether the machine is on 30° or 40° my CO2 output is minimal anyway.

Most European washers won’t actually do a cold wash. Their cold setting usually is marked with * symbol which means it heats to a minimum of around 20°C (68°F) to ensure the detergent is dissolved and enzymes get activated.

The reason for that is that there are potentially big differences in water temperature in winter in many places. You could be washing in very chilly water in mid winter, which would likely have an impact on wash performance. Ensuring it’s at least had the chill taken off it is important.

I would suspect, regardless of labels, 80-90% of general laundry in this part of the world ends up on a 40°C (104°F) cottons cycle, other than delicates/wool items.

I do towels and bed linen on a very hot, but not very long wash. So my towels get washed at 90°C (194°F) with a shot of peroxide bleach as well as the detergent. Never had any issue and it’s not particularly energy hungry. It keeps the machine very clean and mould free, but it also ensures the towels are completely clean. I think the main issue with towels is if they’re dumped into a hamper they inevitably get potential mould growth.

I also use a heat pump dryer, so I think environmentally, I’m minimising my impact.

Microfibres aren’t much of an issue with my laundry either, I hate synthetic fibres, so anything being pumped out in the form of lint is very likely 99% cotton, linen or wool.

Post# 1127372 , Reply# 16   8/31/2021 at 17:46 (967 days old) by smartdrive (Lakewood, CA)        



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Post# 1127412 , Reply# 17   9/1/2021 at 05:43 (966 days old) by henene4 (Heidenheim a.d. Brenz (Germany))        
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