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Spotted: In 2017, scientist and Oxford grad student Kyle Grant became frustrated with the perpetually broken washing machine in his college laundry. He hit on the idea of a small business, collecting and washing clothes for fellow students, and this quickly grew into an on-demand laundry business. 

After thinking about a more environmentally-friendly to do the washing, Grant founded sustainable laundry company Oxwash, which uses redesigned clothes-washing technology to clean and disinfect at lower temperatures, requires less water and filters out microfibres. 

Oxwash’s system uses sterile water reclaimed from previous wash cycles, saving up to 60 per cent of the water consumed in a typical commercial washing machine. The reclaimed water is filtered to remove more than 95 per cent of fibres shed during washing, preventing plastic pollution from reaching waterways and drinking water. Disinfection and sanitisation is accomplished using ozone and biodegradable detergents. 

Oxwash is also aiming for net-zero carbon emissions for the entire laundry process, including delivery. The company’s goal is to: “eradicate the impact of washing on the world’s ecosystems whilst developing the ultimate in cleanliness and finish. We are determined to lead the charge and prove a closed-loop washing process and service is possible.”

At Springwise, we have seen the interest in sustainable laundry grow rapidly as people become more aware of the environmental impact of water usage, waste from detergents and microfibres. Some recently-covered innovations in sustainable laundry include a filter that can be added to existing washing machines to remove microplastics and a washing system that uses sound waves to remove microparticles.

Explore more: Work & Lifestyle Innovations | Sustainability Innovations