When I first arrived at UCLA, I had no idea what I wanted to get involved with. My older cousins kept telling me that I had to have other parts of my life besides school, and that extracurriculars and clubs were the way to go, but I was at a loss. What was I genuinely interested in (not just on paper, but in reality)? After a year of joining clubs, going to a couple of fun events, and then slowly dropping out of going to meetings, I realized that I was going about the process all wrong. I was testing things out that I thought I might like, not gravitating towards clubs that focus on activities that I already do! At the beginning of my second year, I discovered Unravel. It is UCLA’s premiere sustainable fashion club, and focuses on educating students about more renewable and accessible practices pertaining to clothing. I went to a couple of clothing swaps, talked to the members, and was completely sold. I filled out the application to join board the next day.
Now, I adore Unravel. I am extremely passionate about sustainable practices in the fashion and clothing industry, and was so excited to learn more about it and educate my peers as well. I wanted to write the blog post to give a short introduction to one of the topics we talk about, and how helpful it can be to students everywhere.
Sustainable Laundry
Facts:
The main environmental impact of our clothes comes from washing them
If Americans washed with only cold water, we would save 34 million tons of CO2
Fabric softeners and dryer sheets always end up in waterways
Detergents (even biodegradable detergents) can have poisonous effects on waterways and aquatic life
What can I do?
Wash your clothes properly! It leads to them having a longer life cycle, and hopefully to purchasing less clothing
Try to do full loads of laundry - combine with friends if you want! Or wait until your laundry is full!
Line dry if you can
Wash on cold
No dryer sheets. Good smelling laundry is a marketing concept.
Freeze your jeans
Product choices
Wool balls in dryer. Separates clothes so you can put more in each load!
Concentrated detergent
Good brands! Ex: The Simply Co. Common Good.
Unravel meets every other week on Mondays through Zoom (sad COVID times). You can access our website here and join the links to our meetings on our homepage!
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