WASHING

Washing your clothes uses an awful lot of water. We’re not suggesting you stop washing altogether (although we won’t judge if you do), but you probably don’t need to wash your clothes as often as you think you do. Instead, you can spot clean, hand wash, or simply try airing them out for a freshen up to cut down on water consumption.

When you do need to wash, choose a cycle at a lower temperature and use a gentle and natural laundry detergent. Not only does this protect your clothes, but it also helps to reduce the emissions produced during the washing process.

DRYING

Where possible hang dry your clothes rather than tumble drying them. Hanging your clean clothes out to dry on the washing line will give you that comforting fresh air dried laundry smell, and it uses a lot less energy than tumble drying so is much better for the planet.

Simply hang your clothes on an airer or washing line to dry - or lay them flat (check the care label for instructions).

DRY CLEANING

Dry cleaning is a chemically intensive process. Most dry cleaners use a dangerous chemical called Perchloroethylene (Perc) - this is not only dangerous for the environment but for the dry cleaners themselves.

Items that typically recommend dry cleaning, such as coats, can often just be spot cleaned or simply aired out for a quick freshen up.

If dry cleaning is the only option, choose a service that offers non-toxic and eco-friendly alternatives, which in turn are better for your clothes, such as Laundry Republic. They also use biodegradable plastic bags to send your clothes back home.

STORING

Prolong the life of your clothes with correct storage. Keep clothes away from damp, sunlight and heat, try not to overcrowd your wardrobe to give your pieces room to breathe, use padded or wooden hangers to keep clothes in great shape and protect your knitwear from moths using lavender or mothballs.

REPAIRING

Repairing your clothes is an easy and effective way of extending your garment’s life. You don’t need to be a fashion graduate to fix a tear or replace a button, and these small things could mean you and your garment have many more happy years together. There’s research into hand stitching triggering a serotonin release in the brain too, so what’s not to love!

We try to help out as much as we can at MOP HQ and will endeavour to repair your garments should you have any issues - please email our customer service team for help.

DONATING

Don’t leave me hanging! While we hope you will keep your MOP pieces for as long as possible, when you have fallen out of love with any of your clothes, please donate them to someone who is in need or resell them.

There are loads of charities set up to take your unwanted clothes, but one of the local charities we believe in is Smart Works: "Smart Works is a UK charity that provides high quality interview clothes, styling advice and interview training to women in need. We give women the confidence, the self-belief and the practical tools they require to succeed at interview and start a new chapter of their life."

RECYCLING

Whether that’s sending your pre-loved garments to a recycling plant to be broken down and used for something new or giving your unwanted garments to a new home, recycling is a very essential part that we can all play in trying to clean up the fashion world.

We have made a conscious effort to use as many natural fibres in our collections as we know these will biodegrade much faster and in a less damaging way than synthetic fibres (synthetic fibres release methane when breaking down on landfill – a harmful greenhouse gas). However, it is not possible to make all fabrics using natural fibres. There is more and more research being done into recycling synthetic fibres, but we haven’t quite got there yet, on a small scale. loveyourclothes.org.uk has lots of information on what to do with unwanted clothes, including a recycling locator to find your nearest textiles recycling bank.