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Textile characteristics, laundering and the environment
Author(s) -
GROOTMARCUS ANS P.,
MOLL MIRJAM
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
journal of consumer studies and home economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.775
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1470-6431
pISSN - 0309-3891
DOI - 10.1111/j.1470-6431.1996.tb00253.x
Subject(s) - laundry , respondent , textile , composition (language) , clothing , environmental science , waste management , pulp and paper industry , engineering , materials science , composite material , art , history , archaeology , political science , literature , law
The environmental impact of laundering is dependent on the laundry methods used by households. This study investigates the relation between laundry methods (frequency, load size and wash temperature) and the composition of wash loads. Three definitions for the composition of wash loads are used: the respondent's classification and two objective definitions. These are constructed in two different ways from three specific characteristics of the textiles: colour, textile fibre and the type of article. The data are from a survey with a 2‐week diary about laundry practices of 1026 Dutch households in 1990. The results show that all three definitions of the composition of wash loads can explain one factor of the laundry method, wash temperature; frequency and load size, however, are not influenced by the composition of the wash load.