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Klassisk fuschia cardigan

 

Sustainability seems to be on everyone's lips these days - and for good reason. When it comes to clothing, you are e.g. well on your way if you are looking for woolen products.

Wool has many good properties that make it suitable for most things. And it is also a very good choice when it comes to sustainability.

CHARACTERISTICS AND QUALITIES

  • Wool is a natural material that breathes and works temperature regulating in all kinds of weather.
  • In addition to the excellent temperature regulating properties, wool is also very good at both absorbing and transporting sweat away from the body and keeping you dry.
  • Another one of the many advantages of wool is that it has a light and airy structure due to its elastic fibers. That's why it doesn't crease or look wrinkled so easily and rarely needs to be ironed. 
  •  The wool's surface structure makes it difficult for bacteria to survive. The natural material is therefore incredibly resistant to dirt and the smell of sweat. Not only does it increase comfort - it also means wool does not have to be washed as well often as for example synthetic materials that easily gets smelly. Fewer washes mean less consumption of water, electricity and soap, and this is one of the things that makes a difference in the environmental accounts. Fewer washes also mean that the clothes last longer.

    GOOD TIPS

    • Try hanging your woolen clothes in the bathroom while you take a shower. Here, the moisture from the bath will help to remove unpleasant odors.
    • Since wool is self-cleaning and dirt-repellent, it does not need to be washed too often. Give your clothes a breather by hanging them outside at night.
    • When you wash your woolen clothes from time to time it is important that you do not use fat-soluble detergent, as this can destroy the clothes' natural self-cleaning properties. Wool fibers are covered by the natural fat lanolin, which gives wool many of its characteristic properties. Instead, you should use a detergent specifically for wool that works with the wool. 
    • Hand washing is often something you try to avoid as it takes time. However, it is always the safest way to wash wool. You can of course also use gentle wool programs on the washing machine, but there is a risk that the clothes will fray and shrink more easily. Therefore, I would always recommend that you wash your clothes carefully by hand if you want to take care of them. Hand washing one or more pieces of woolen clothing is not as difficult as you think. Often it only takes 10 minutes and if you take into account how long the clothes last, it's a very short time to invest.

    HANDWASH

    1. Put some lukewarm water in a tub or sink with some mild wool detergent and whisk it together by hand.

    2. Place the garment in the soapy water and squeeze it gently so that dirt slowly disappears from the garment. Avoid pressing, rubbing and twisting it too much, as it risks losing its shape.

    3. When the water starts to get dirty, change it. Then repeat the process until the water is no longer dirty.

    4. Finish by rinsing the garment in a clean water bath to remove detergent residue and dirt.

    5. Then take the clothes out of the water and place them on a towel. Gently roll up into a roll to squeeze out excess water. If the clothes are very wet, you may want to gently squeeze the water out over the sink before rolling them in a towel.

    When drying wool, it is always best to leave it to dry. This is because the clothes often is much more wet after a wash than similar clothes in other materials, which are spun more. Woolen clothes are therefore more likely to stretch and lose their shape if hung up to dry. Lay your woolen clothes to dry on e.g. a towel on a drying rack or similar. The airier the better. Then stretch and adjust the garment to its natural shape and allow to dry.

    STORAGE OF WOOL

    Knitted woolen clothes should preferably be stored folded and lying flat. This is because knitted clothes stretch easily if stored hanging on a hanger and can take the shape of the hanger.

    Clothes such as blazers, trousers and suits can be stored hanging, as they are usually made of woven fabric that can withstand hanging without losing its shape.
    If you want to avoid the clothes being attacked by pests such as moths, you can put a bag of dried lavender or a block of cedar in the wardrobe, as these pests do not like the smell. In the case that animals have gotten into the clothes, it may be a good idea to put them in the freezer for a week, so that you are sure that they die and can no longer destroy the clothes.

     I hope you have been inspired and perhaps gained some new tricks so that you can take better care of your wool styles. Often it is about getting old habits changed before you can feel how easy it actually can be to take care of your clothes. See a selection of PAROL's STRIK here.