Wear & Wash guide
We want you to be able to enjoy your basics as long as possible, so here's a guide to make that happen!
Aside from producing sustainably, a big part of lessening the negative impact to our planet is making sure that the items we make and buy last us for a long time and don't add up to the pile of waste that's already out there. You might have heard of sustainable fashion challenges calling on consumers to wear their clothes at least 30 times before getting rid of them. This comes from several studies that have shown that many clothing items are on average worn only 6 times before they end up as waste!
Now, this mainly has to do with the fact that fast fashion has created the idea that clothing is disposable, rather than something durable that should be treasured. Clothing is being made following this logic as well - using cheap materials and rushed workmanship - to create clothing items that will not last up to 30 wears without any quality issues. Of course, our clothing is produced with a very different view on its durability. We use high-quality materials and the clothing is produced by highly skilled sewers and seamstresses in our partner factories. All this to make sure that your Honest Basics far outlast the 30 wears!
Below are some tips to further help you make your items last as long as possible.
Washing 🫧
Washing your clothes is unfortunately something they don't love.
The heat, soap and movement that clothing faces when being thrown into a washing machine creates strain on the fibres and seams.
That's why we encourage you to wash your clothing as little as possible! Please do not feel like you need to go around being smelly 🦨, but most clothes can be hung out to freshen up instead of throwing them in the washing machine after wearing them just once or twice. The same logic goes for stains. It's often not necessary to wash an entire garment when there's just a small stain on it, we recommend hand-washing the spot with some white vinegar and baking soda in this case.
When you do need to wash your clothes, please:
- Sort by colour
- Wash using a gentle cycle (little to no centrifugation)
- Wash clothes at maximum 30 degrees Celsius
- Air dry - no need to put your clothes through more stress from heat and movement in the dryer! However, make sure your clothes do not dry in direct sunlight, as this can discolour them over time.
- Avoid ironing clothes, again, the heat and friction will stress the fibres of your clothing. Especially for cotton clothing we recommend shaking out your clothes before hanging/laying them out to dry and they will naturally fall back into shape.
🌟 For the most gentle pieces of clothing, such as our knitwear, we have some extra recommendations:
- Hand-wash clothes that are too gentle for the washing machine - However please be gentle! Many people are prone to put their shoulders into it and use very hot water when handwashing to really get their clothes clean, however this usually puts more stress on the fabric then a gentle washing machine cycle. When we speak of hand-washing, we only mean a luke-warm, gentle soak and thorough rinse
- Turn your clothes inside out to prevent pilling while washing in the washing machine
- Lay your knitwear out to dry and also fold instead of hang these pieces to prevent them from stretching
Mending 🪡
If your clothes end up getting a little worn out - or holes and stains have simply occured through some bad luck, there's still lots to do before having to resign them to be waste.
- Snags & Pulls
For knitted items, it can unfortunately quite easily happen that little snags or pulls come out. Usually, these snags can simply be fixed by pulling the thread back through it's original loop using a needle. When the issue is a little bigger, some very minor sewing is possible to hide the snag and make it possible for you to keep wearing your piece with confidence! (We recommend checking out the vast amount of resources created by wonderful amateur seamstresses and sewers on youtube).
- Seams & Holes
When seams get torn or holes show up in your clothes, these issues tend to be a bit more difficult to fix then with some creative DIY-ing. When you feel at home with a sewing machine, following a torn seam and resewing is often quite easy and little holes can be fixed by using some iron-on fabric (1-2 euros at a diy store).
However, when you do not feel comfortable fixing things yourself, we recommend that you visit a local alterations shop (or if you're lucky, you live in an area where repair cafés are organised). Holes and seam-tears can usually be fixed quickly and cheaply, simply paying 5-10 euros, and supporting local shops in your community in the meantime.
- Stains
Not all stains can be washed out, unfortunately, but before throwing out your clothing item, think of ways in which upcycling or changing the item could hide the stain and still make you feel comfortable wearing it! There are many sources of inspiration to be found on the internet, but potentially alteration shops or local creatives can also help come up with a solution. We personally love the uniqueness of stains being hidden by embroidery, but many possibilities exist, such as iron -or sewn on patches, redyeing your clothes, etc.