Sustainable Fashion and Beauty Tips For Women

Yesterday, my friend Sana complained to me that the winter coat she bought in last week, which costs about ¥1500 (US$230) was faded, and unfortunately, her other light-colored clothes were also dyed after washing. She is so angry and deeply doubts that there must be some quality problems in her coat.

We used to think that only the cheap clothes with bad quality are likely to fade while the expensive/luxurious outfits will definitely last longer and it's less likely to fade.
However, fibers are fragile and don't last forever. No matter how good-quality of your clothes, fading or aging are inevitable. But with the careful consideration and correct washing methods, you'll be able to wear your favorite clothes until they are out of style. Before introducing how to wash and how to preserve your precious garments, I'm going to explain some things that most people are confused about.

With the enhancement of environmental awareness, more and more garment companies begin to use plant dyeing method to produce their clothing, meaning that they use the expensive natural ingredients that are extracted from plants. Such natural dyestuffs are harmless and environment-friendly, but have a poor fixation and easy to fade. For example, a technique called “ blue-dyeing” is a process that extracts indigo from persicaria tinctoria, then color the fabric artificially.


Due to the poor color fastness, these kinds of clothes cannot be soaked for a long time and cannot be washed with warm water.

Natural fibers like cotton, linen, ramie, silk, and wool are more likely to fade faster than chemical fabrics, such as chinlon, terylene (Polyester), acrylic, etc. That's the reason why many linen clothing fades much faster and the cotton outfits are easy to get aged.

Natural Fiber: Linen

Cotton gets aging

Chemical Fabric: Polyester

In addition, comparing to light-colored clothes, those textiles in bright tones or dark tones are much easier to fade.

The more to the right, the more serious of the color fade

1. First, turn your clothes inside out before you wash to keep them from rubbing together. Be sure to wash them by opting for a mild laundry detergent to prevent fading. Regular-formula detergents are known to contain harmful chemical additives that can damage fibers. Wash clothes in cold water for helping protect a garment's colors since warm water makes fibers more prone to releasing dye to the wash water.

2. Separate your clothes in dark colors and light colors to avoid mutual staining, especially when you use washing machines.

3. Rinse your clothes with clean water to ensure there is no cleaner residue are left.

4. Don't expose your clothes to the sun, dry them in a cool and ventilated place.

About different washing tips for clothes with different fabrics, please head over to the following articles:
1. < How to Wash Down Puffer Jackets > 
2. < 8 TIPS OF CARING FOR SWEATERS >
3. < HOW TO WASH COTTON LINEN CLOTHING > 
4. < 8 TIPS OF CARING FOR WOOL COATS > 
5. < HOW TO CARE FOR LEATHER JACKETS >

Post by: https://morimiss.blogspot.com

When talking about clothes care, there are lots of aspects requiring attention. And as the must-have outfits in winter, knowing how to properly wash your sweaters is particularly important.

1. Wash your sweater with cold water! Grab and rub it gently. However, due to the peculiarity of cashmere, the cleaning method of cashmere sweater is different from the ordinary one, “ pat, squeeze, suck, unfold” is the 4 major steps to wash cashmere sweaters.


2. If the sweater is stained by oil, you can put some baby powders on the stain and rub it, you'll be surprised to find that the stain is sucked by the powder!


3. Properly hang your sweater can prevent deformation, and the right instructions are as follows:


Or you can choose a clothes basket ( a special tool to hang clothes in order to prevent deformation).

4. Because of various reasons, the sweater is likely to be out of shape after a long time wearing. If the sweater becomes loose, here is a practical solution: soak your sweater with hot water, the best water temperature is between 70~80 ℃, otherwise, it will shrink.

However, if the sweater has shrunk already, soak it with 30 ℃ water, add some shampoos, dry it with a cloth bag. Then, steam the sweater for 10-15 minutes, pull it when it's hot, the sweater will recover.

5. Pilling is another common problem of almost all sweaters, no matter the wool sweaters, or the cable knit sweater. But unlike the solution of woman winter coat, the hair removal roller and the trimmer are not suitable for sweater's pulling since it will damage its original fiber. The sweater comb or the sweater stone is the best choice.


6. Put your white sweater into a refrigerator for 1 hour if it has slightly faded. You will find it's as clean as new after drying out in the wind.

7. Add appropriate amount of household ammonia and dry cleaning agent, and a few drops of vinegar when rinsing, which is helpful to restore luster and softness.

8. Fold your sweater instead of hanging when storing it. And also put together with an oversized t-shirt, which can prevent electrostatic generation.

A more related article about clothes care, please read< 8 TIPS OF CARING FOR WOOL COATS >. 

Post by: http://morimiss.blogspot.com