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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To agree with Stella McCartney that we don't need to wash our clothes so often

112 replies

LauraMontreville · 08/07/2019 12:53

And the experts on Jeremy Vine (R2) agree with her.
And so does some bloke who sells Levis.

I know MN loves excessive laundering but apparently it's better for our clothes and the planet to wash them less.

OP posts:
Rachelover40 · 08/07/2019 16:15

I agree that worn clothes (unless you've only had something on for an hour), don't go into the wardrobe. My mum taught me that but I honestly never knew why until now! Moths aye? Someone above said they are more likely to infest unworn clothes, I honestly don't know. Never had moths but there is still time!

Not all fabric conditioner has a strong scent, some of the 'sensitive' ones don't which is what I buy, dislike strong perfumes.

I wouldn't wear a shirt or blouse more than one day, neither would husband (not blouse tho' he is a big girls one), but they are usually worn all day if you're at work and most work places have a policy about being 'smart and well groomed'. I don't work now and sometimes just wear a top for a couple of hours, for example if I have an appointment and afterwards drop into a supermarket. Barring spilling coffee or something on it, I'll take it off when I get home and wear it again.

Children's clothes seem to become dirty very quickly and need frequent washing.

I wasn't aware of Mumsnet being a 'hot bed' of extreme cleanliness :-). Maybe I've just missed that. I'll probably see it now!

Grumpelstilskin · 08/07/2019 16:18

Stella is a massive hypocrite and another faux-modest champagne socialist. Her vegetarian credentials are pretty iffy, as she is a bit of a moron. Then again, I feel a bit sorry for her, her mother’s range of vegetarian sausages look like dead man’s fingers and pretty much taste the same. Anyway, back to her virtue-signalling and utter ignorance. She sells vastly overpriced lingerie and clothes and uses silk! Last I heard, silk production involves killing animals because the silk worms are boiled or gassed alive inside their cocoons to unravel them. An estimated 6,600 silkworms are killed to make just 1 kilogram of silk. So, she can fuck right off with her holier than thou hypocrisy! The quality and workmanship of her clothes is also vastly overrated. But not as much, as her design credentials. Her early stints for other designers were only so well-received because of the flair and talent of people working underneath her. If she didn’t have the pull of her father’s fame, she would have never got a well-known fashion brand. I cannot take her serious.

speakout · 08/07/2019 16:22

Gingerkittykat

Well said this is the same Stella who has several homes across the globe, takes countless international flights a year, claims to be
vegan yet sells a range of silk clothing ( which invloves silkworms being boiled alive in their cocoons ) and has the audacity to tell us ordinary people not to wash their t shirts too often.

Patronising hypocrite.

RosaWaiting · 08/07/2019 16:27

I agree with the comments about hypocrisy.

Pinktinker · 08/07/2019 16:30

Adult shirts generally need washing after every use. Obviously depends on how warm the weather is, how active you have been, how much of a stinky person you are but I don’t think most people can get away with wearing a shirt umpteen times.

Jeans and trousers can generally be worn 5/6 times before needing a wash.

LoafofSellotape · 08/07/2019 16:33

I think I'm a right dirty Nelly but I think I'm washer woman of the year compared to some postersShock

Only washing jeans once a year?!Shock

Roussette · 08/07/2019 16:33

Since when can't we put clothes back in the wardrobe if we've worn them more than an hour?! I have lots of dresses, blouses etc that I wear and put back!

AlaskanOilBaron · 08/07/2019 16:35

Is it OK to ask others to was their undershirts/underwear only occasionally so that they can have 4 kids (let's pretend for a moment that they're children who have a normal Western pattern of consumption ha ha).

I don't think so.

I am more than well aware of the fact that clothes do better with less washing, but Stella McCartney will not convince me that I should not wash my t-shirts, underwear and socks with every use.

As many have said, she's not doing laundry anyway.

missbattenburg · 08/07/2019 16:35

Summer is great, turn clothes inside out, hang them on the line and let the sunshine do the work!

What is this witchcraft?

Does sunshine clean clothes?

Have I been missing a trick?

Benjispruce · 08/07/2019 16:36

Knickers and pants get worn once, everything else gets worn a few times unless I have sweated in it. I spot treat minor stains. Jumpers rarely washed because they are worn over a vest or T shirt usually. Jeans not often but that's because they are only worn at the weekend. Bedding once a fortnight, towels once a week but we all have our own.

CuriousaboutSamphire · 08/07/2019 16:38

In hot countries yes, it also bleaches them and weakens fabric. But has been used to clean and brighten cloth forever.

Here it will do the same, but less so! I avoid midday, I figure that it will do to my clothes what it would do to me (redhead) Smile

Benjispruce · 08/07/2019 16:38

Since when can't we put clothes back in the wardrobe if we've worn them more than an hour?! I have lots of dresses, blouses etc that I wear and put back!
Of course, that's normal isn't it?
Just back from work and hung up my trousers and top in my wardrobe.

AlaskanOilBaron · 08/07/2019 16:42

Since when can't we put clothes back in the wardrobe if we've worn them more than an hour?! I have lots of dresses, blouses etc that I wear and put back!

I don't think you should expect any kind of kudos for not washing dresses or blouses after every wear.

As PP has said, it's normal.

As i understand it, sunlight whitens/cleans in the short-term and damages/reduces life in the long-term.

31RueCambon · 08/07/2019 16:43

She's right.

Sofasurfingsally · 08/07/2019 16:44

I tend to try to eke out washes which teenagers do. They have a tendency to use their laundry baskets as a tidying up mechanism (No one person at a desk all day needs to wash 5 pairs of jeans in under 2 days).

LoafofSellotape · 08/07/2019 16:44

I don't put worn clothes back on the wardrobe, I'd hang something I was planning to wear again on the back of the door or on the chest of drawers. Not sure why but I wouldn't hang worn clothes up with clean clothes.

ZazieTheCat · 08/07/2019 16:45

@TeddyBear45

I did not say that the only thing clothes moths like to eat is human skin/sweat. They like clean clothes too, as long as they are fibres like wool, silk and cashmere of animal/insect origin.

This is because they eat keratin. Keratin is a protein of animal/insect origin. But they will attack other fibres too, like cotton, if there is keratin there from other sources e.g. human skin cells.

By the way, clothes in laundry baskets tend to go into the wash soon after. Washing (provided it’s at a sufficiently high temperature) does kill moth larvae.

One of the things leading to the current explosion in clothes moths in the uk, is the increasing use of low temperature washing. A 60C wash will kill moth larvae, a 30C wash won’t. Fabrics unsuitable for a hot wash (wool, cashmere, silk) are more properly treated by an alternative method, such a freezing or dry cleaning.

High standards of cleanliness, proper storage and cleaning of clothing, regular vacuuming of crevices in rooms and furniture and cleaning out drawers/wardrobes etc are all good practices that can prevent or manage moth infestations.

Moths aren’t very prevalent in some areas of the UK. If you live in one of those areas, you could be very lax on a lot of these things and be fine.

Other areas, you could be pretty strict and still be unlucky- the centre of Edinburgh for example is a particular moth hotspot (partly due to all the beautiful buildings, which have horsehair in the wall plaster as that was the building method then- as the old plaster crumbles, it falls into wall cavities and the moths take hold).

When I lived in the centre of Edinburgh, we kept all wool/silk/cashmere items in a second freezer with drawers, in order to minimize dry cleaning and washing. We also kept the number of items of clothing we had to a bare minimum, and everything we had was in regular rotation use.

diddl · 08/07/2019 16:45

When I was a kid we had a twin tub & a wash day!

If something needed washing between times, no way was the twin tub going to be trundled out!

So if it wasn't good enough weather to drip dry outside after a hand wash-you'd better hope that a spot wash would be good enoughGrin

I thought it was normal to wear a top for a couple of days, hang it outside the wardrobe for a couple of days & then wear again before it needed to hit the laundry basket!

More to do with the washing happening once a week & a limited supply of clothes though than bother about water/the environment.

As a teen we had an automatic & mostly fell into the wear it & wash it cycle.

Now it's only underwear a husband's & son's work shirts that are in the wear & wash category.

ZazieTheCat · 08/07/2019 16:47

@bluebluezoo

Here’s just one of many sources

If you want to find more, google is your friend

BinkyBaa · 08/07/2019 16:59

I only get multiple uses out of trousers and skirts. Socks and underwear are obviously single use, but I've yet to find an industrial strength deodorant that'll save my tops for the next day.

Half the time I'm paranoid people can smell me by the end of the day. Nevermind putting the shirt back on.

2littleninjas · 08/07/2019 17:07

I wash trousers once a week, but I have to wash mine and DH’s tops everyday because we sweat a lot. Our boys could get away with wearing a top twice before it needing a wash.

TantricTwist · 08/07/2019 17:10

She's talking about suits, coats and skirts not clothes that are not worn directly on the skin which will get sweaty from armpits and obvs not underwear.

MuddlingMackem · 08/07/2019 17:17

@NeverGotMyPuppy Mon 08-Jul-19 14:07:19
I hate how much washing I'm having to do with a weaning baby. I'm pretty careful with my own clothes but it seems he needs a change of vest after most bloody meals!

My DC2 was like this, we got around it by using long sleeved bibs with a muslin over the knees and tucked under the bib. We pinned them together at the back to keep them on the child. Used the same ones for all meals for one day and then chucked them in the washer after tea. Saved clothes and washing. Also used flannels to wipe down rather than babywipes, one per day. :)

Orangeballon · 08/07/2019 17:23

72 hour deodorant is brilliant!

Rachelover40 · 08/07/2019 17:30

Orangeballon
72 hour deodorant is brilliant!

Me:- Doesn't it wash off? Please tell me the brand, it would be nice to have one and if it doesn't wash off but continues to be effective, a great result. Also does it smell, I prefer unperfumed or only lightly perfumed toiletries.

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