COPENHAGEN, Denmark--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Last night at the Copenhagen Fashion Summit, Lenor encouraged fashion enthusiasts to ‘Wash it Better, Love it Longer’ by announcing a #30wears challenge Call to Action. By adopting better laundry practices such as the Long Live Fashion Formula - cold and quick cycles, using quality detergent and fabric conditioner - we can extend the life of our clothes by up to four times, reducing the environmental impact associated with purchasing new garments, and keeping them out of landfill, as well as saving money by buying less new clothing.
Specially commissioned research from Lenor revealed that while 40% of people in the UK planned to wear the last item of clothing they purchased more than 30 times, in reality 43% throw away clothes after less than 10 wears, demonstrating the need for a significant change in consumer behaviour. With 70% saying the main reason they get rid of clothes is because they lose their shape, fade or start to look old, there is significant scope for extending the life of clothing by treating them better. While just over a quarter (26%) of those in the UK are aware that the fashion industry is one of the top 20% polluting industries in the world, encouragingly 91% said they would be willing to change their habits by keeping clothes for longer.
Bert Wouters, Global Vice President Fabric Enhancers at Procter & Gamble commented: “Building on our Long Live Fashion Formula, which quadruples the lifetime of clothes, Lenor is delighted to lead this Call to Action of ‘Wash it Better, Love it Longer’ through the #30wears challenge. By doing so, we aim to drive real industry change through the impact that better laundry habits can make to the longevity of clothing.”
Supporting the ‘Wash it Better, Love it Longer’ initiative and the #30wears Call to Action, Lenor is also pleased to share ambitions for a new global movement spearheaded by a panel of online fashion influencers across multiple countries. These partners will choose a favourite piece of clothing and consciously wear it at least 30 times whilst applying the Long Live Fashion Formula to maximise the longevity of their clothing. They will share their journey on social media to inspire others to do the same.
Virginie Helias, Chief Sustainability Officer at Procter & Gamble commented: “The Lenor ‘Wash it Better, Love it Longer’ program is a great example of how brands inspire and enable responsible consumption, bringing to life our recently announced Brand 2030 criteria. Through this framework our leadership brands can make sustainable lifestyle irresistible for the five billion people we touch each day.”
Keeping clothes for longer has a wider positive impact even beyond the environmental savings associated with clothing production. This is demonstrated by P&G’s soon to be published academic research (https://rlsd.co/p/1MM_RA), demonstrating that most microfibres are released in the first few washes.
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IMAGES AND INTERVIEW REQUESTS: To arrange interviews from the Summit, please contact Becky Hudson. For photography and any other media requests, please contact the press office or go to the multi-media release: https://rlsd.co/p/1MM_RA
Notes to Editors
P&G launched the clothes longevity initiative by Downy and Lenor as one of the first under P&G’s Ambition 2030, the company’s overarching sustainability goals, aimed at enabling and inspiring responsible consumption among consumers.
According to WRAP, clothing has the 4th largest environmental impact after housing, transport and food. Extending the active life of half of UK clothes by nine months could save 8% carbon, 10% water and 4% waste per tonne, whilst washing and care of our clothes accounts for a third of carbon footprint of clothing and more than 25% of post-consumer clothing ends up in the household waste bin.
We surveyed a sample of 1,000 people per market aged between 18 and 44 across the US, UK, Germany, France, China and Canada in May 2019 on their attitudes towards clothes longevity.
About Procter & Gamble
P&G serves approximately 4.8 billion people around the world with its brands. The Company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always®, Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Fusion®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Mach3®, Olay®, Oral-B®, Pampers®, Pantene®, Prestobarba®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks®, Wella®, and Whisper®. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.
About Copenhagen Fashion Summit
Since its first edition in 2009, Copenhagen Fashion Summit has established itself as the world’s leading business event on sustainability in fashion. Convening major fashion industry decision makers at a global scale, the Summit has become the nexus for agenda-setting discussions on the most critical environmental, social and ethical issues facing our industry and planet.
