You Can Now Say That Gigantic Pile Of Laundry Is Helping The Planet Because It Is With These Small Changes

I’m going to be honest here: Doing laundry is about my fourth least favorite chore — there are things I absolutely will avoid at all costs (grocery shopping) and things like vacuuming that I’m oddly ashamed I find satisfying, but not ashamed enough not to admit to it. I love crisp carpet lines like people love the glow of candles. I also know that fresh linen is a preferred fragrance in room sprays, candles, and wall outlet plugs — which is why I leave my clean laundry in a heap in the living room when company arrives. Why spend a lot of bucks on the fake thing when I have the real thing right here, front and center?

In addition to my love of fresh-smelling clothes, it’s important to me that the products I choose are environmentally conscious. Small choices that I make now can have a big impact on the environment and the kind of world my children inherit. This year for Earth Day, I’m joining with Tide purclean™ and World Wildlife Fund by taking the #CleanPledge for sustainable laundry care. My living room may look like a landfill 360 days out of the year, but that doesn’t mean I plan on heavily contributing to the ones outside my house.

Here’s five ways to help the planet with your gigantic pile of laundry that never stops regenerating itself, so you can be the giver you’ve always wanted.

Join Tide purclean and actress Kristen Bell by taking the sustainable laundry pledge — and for each pledge received, $5 will be donated to World Wildlife Fund.

World Wildlife Fund has spent the last 50 years protecting the future of nature through conservation. The WWF works in more than 100 countries protecting habitats, strengthening local communities’ ability to conserve the resources they rely on, and so much more.

Wash your laundry with cold water.

By pledging to use cold-water cycles for one year, you’ll save enough energy to drive more than 300 miles, power your cell phone for a lifetime, and your TV for four months.

Use an energy-saving HE washer and quick cycle.

On average, switching your washing machine to an HE model means using 65% less energy and 3 times less water.

Forgo buying trendy fashion pieces and stick to classics.

Five percent of our landfills are filled with textile waste, which means we’re throwing away a lot clothing. We can extend the life of our clothes by paying closer attention to care instruction labels. On average, we throw away 70 pounds of textile waste each year. It’s a smart environmental choice to ditch buying trendy fashion pieces and instead maintain our classic pieces like black turtlenecks.

Choose an eco-friendly laundry detergent like Tide purclean.

Made with 65% plant-based ingredients, purclean is free of dyes and produced at a facility with zero manufacturing waste to landfill. And that’s not all: The purclean facility is powered by wind energy, and it comes in a recycled bottle. purclean works on any washing machine and provides the same level of stain removal and color care as Tide Original so you don’t have to compromise clean to be eco-friendly.