The consumer engagement initiative ‘I prefer 30°’ seeks to lower the average wash temperature in Europe (41°) by more than 10°C to reduce energy usage and costs, as well as conserve water.

The campaign is being run by the Association for Soaps, Detergents & Maintenance Products (AISE) in association with the European Commission.

It has the backing of corporations such as Proctor & Gamble (P&G) – its vice president for laundry in western Europe Mohamed Samir said the company was looking to scale up efforts to get consumers to reduce their average wash temperatures for laundry.

Much of P&G’s innovation work is centred on developing detergents to clean well at low temperatures and the company has undertaken a series of collaborative partnerships to minimise the consumer impact of its products.

It has also set itself an ambitious goal to get 70% of all washing machine loads worldwide operating at lower temperatures by 2020. Currently around 40% of global machine loads are washed in cold water.

The ‘I prefer 30°’ campaign is also looking to broaden its reach to other key stakeholders including the fashion/textile industry, retailers and appliance manufacturers.

It will be rolled out to consumers across the UK, France, Italy, Denmark and Belgium from January 2014 to October 2014. Meanwhile those businesses interested in backing the campaign can take advantage of a toolkit available on the campaign website.

Maxine Perella

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