The Simple Things In Life.

It’s a wonderful feeling contemplating the long, sunny days ahead of us. Days open with opportunities; trips to the beach, barbecues, sipping ice cold drinks in the garden. Long sunny days which also bring pleasure to the simple things in life - such as hanging out the washing.

Sustainability is a crucial part of our identity. So we’re always looking for the best and most eco-friendly ways to take care of our organic cotton t-shirts, to keep them looking perfect for longer. Like everything the more you care the less frequently will you'll need to dispose of and replace something. Better for the environment and our wallets!

Caring for your organic t-shirt boils down to two things; how you launder and the products that you use. This month, inspired by the beautiful weather we have been having, we are choosing a 100% power-saving method of drying our white t-shirts; the sun.

According to National Statistics, almost 60% of households now own a tumble dryer. That means more than 14m households are using electricity to dry clothes, when they could save that energy by hanging them outside. An average drying-machine cycle uses just over 4kWh of energy and produces around 1.8kg CO2. If all households with a tumble dryer dried one load of washing outside each week, instead of by machine, they would save over a million tonnes of CO2 in a year.

Once upon a time, the humble washing line was part of a picturesque British postcard, an iconic aspect of life throughout the last century. They are rapidly becoming a thing of the past. In a world of speed and efficiency you can see the appeal of tumble driers; they’re quicker, easier and don’t rely on good weather. They are however, racking up your electricity bill as well as the CO2’s. And they certainly aren’t doing anything for your clothes.

Apart from the obvious money-saving and enviromental benefits of washing lines, there are also a few hygiene benefits which you may not known about…

UV rays in sunlight are brilliant at killing off lingering bacteria. Some resistant forms can remain on our clothes when rinsed in cold washes but one thing they are not so good at surviving is sunlight.

Sunlight is particularly perfect for drying our white t-shirts. The sun works to make whites appear clearer and crisper. A lot of washing powders use reflective, fluorescent flakes in their products which cause your clothes to look artificially brighter by bouncing light off the fabric. UVAs, however, have natural bleaching properties so by using a washing line on a sunny day your clothes will be so much brighter and cleaner than a tumble drier could ever promise.

Not sold yet? Ok, we saved the best for last; the wonderfully soft smell of summer on your clothes once they’re dry. We all love that don’t we? The gorgeous scent of grass and fresh air that feels like its been woven into the fabric. You won’t get that in a tumble dryer, nor the satisfaction of knowing you’ve made full use of the elusive summer sun. Ah, it’s the little things in life…