Changing laundry habits in Norway

Maintenance is often the most energy‐demanding stage during clothes' life cycle. Therefore, a shift towards more sustainable washing habits has great potential to reduce the consumption of energy, water and detergent. This paper discusses the change in laundering practices during the past 10 years in Norway and suggests strategies to help consumers change their laundry habits to more sustainable ones. Quantitative information of consumers' experiences, habits and opinions concerning clothing maintenance was collected through three surveys in Norway in 2002, 2010 and 2011. The 2010 study was supplemented with qualitative in‐depth interviews of a strategic sample of households. The average washing temperature has decreased slightly during the studied time periods. Some products' washing frequencies remained the same, whereas other products such as jeans were used a few more days before washing. The cotton programme is the most used washing programme, but short programmes are gaining popularity. The laundry sorting processes vary greatly and are influenced by several factors such as washing temperature, colours, fibre type and use area. For some consumers, the use of several different sorting categories made it more difficult to collect a sufficient amount of clothing to fill the machine. They were also afraid that overfilling the machine would result in clothes that were not clean enough or had detergent residues. Detergent dosing practices are far from optimal. In 2010, although the majority of respondents only used eye measure and did not know the water hardness of their area, they still tried to vary detergent dosage based on the amount of laundry and the level of soiling. Different design for sustainable behaviour strategies could be used within detergent dosage systems, care labelling, machine programme selection (such as suggesting lower temperature and eco‐programme), machine filling grade indicators, storage systems for slightly used clothing and textile material choice.     

Clean laundry with pure conscience—A study on laundry practices among Finnish consumers

The previous study concerning laundry practices in Finland was published 16 years ago. Since that time, many pro‐environmental debates have been going on and sustainable actions have been implemented in many areas of individual lives and households. The purpose of this study is to investigate the textile laundering practices of Finnish consumers and their attitudes toward clothing care procedures. This study discusses how laundry habits could be developed into a more sustainable direction. The data for this research were gathered through an online enquiry that consisted of structured multiple‐choice questions. The data were obtained from 1,841 persons of whom 97.5% were women (n = 1,795). The data were analyzed by statistical means using the SPSS program. The data show that, despite media attention and debate about textile care procedures, there still are factors in laundering that burden the environment. From a sustainability point of view, some improvements exist when comparing to the situation 16 years ago, but washing machines still are seldom filled to their full capacity and consumers, being unaware of water hardness, administer excessive amounts of detergent. The current life situations of the household members seem to be major factors influencing laundry habits and sustainable actions. Especially, young people and families with children would benefit from information and instructions on laundry practices. Topics could contain knowledge about water hardness and proper dosing of detergent, filling the washing machine, washing temperatures, drying methods, and saving energy. Furthermore, general promotion of gender equality is important because household work and laundering is strikingly women‐performed work.     

THE COST OF WASHING CLOTHES: SOURCES OF VARIATION

This paper develops the national average cost of washing clothes by examining consumer research data on the frequencies of using various water temperature settings and laundry additives and by utilizing national surveys of laundry product prices. Variations in these costs are shown to be significantly affected by three variables: (1) costs increase with family size due to the higher number of loads washed, (2) costs increase in areas where phosphate detergents are not available due to an increased use of hot water and laundry additives and (3) costs increase in harder water areas due to an increased use of hot water and fabric softener. The average increased cost for energy and laundry additives per family due to the nonavailability of phosphate detergents exceeds $11.00 per year. In addition to this amount, increased wear on washing machine parts and fabrics from the use of carbonate-built detergents significantly increases the costs to consumers in nonphosphate areas.     

Laundry practices: line-drying and load characteristics

The authors conducted an exploratory study on laundry practices including: contents and number of laundry loads, use of line-drying, laundry items that are line-dried, and availability of equipment for line-drying. The participants dried fewer loads than previously reported in the literature and laundered different items. Subjects used line-drying for selected textiles, viewed line-drying as time consuming and indicated they lacked equipment for line-drying. The respondents did not thoroughly comprehend the meaning of ‘line dry’. From the results, the authors concluded that additional research is needed to identify a standard or typical laundry load. Research is necessary to up-date the body of knowledge, and educators need to inform consumers of the benefits and concerns of line-drying.     

Residential energy behaviour: does generation matter?

In this study we tested the relevance of the generational hypothesis, that is, whether the era in which household members grew up matters when understanding and predicting their behaviour, on a sample of 600 Swedish households. These households participated in a survey where they answered questions about their own energy‐related residential energy behaviour. The answers were analysed for differences between age groups, between different attitudes to environmental issues, between income levels and between dwelling types. The results showed that age was as good an indicator as the other parameters. In several areas, older households had a more energy‐efficient residential behaviour than younger ones. Examples are laundry practices and indoor heat regulation. According to the generational hypothesis, this finding implies higher energy use in the future. The study also shows that there is a broad scope for improving residential energy behaviour in Swedish society by implementing changes in laundry avoiding practices, dishwashing behaviour and indoor temperature regulation.     

Consumers' credit cards and international students

This paper focuses on graduate international students' knowledge, attitudes, experiences, practices, and satisfaction relating to credit cards. Respondents (n = 261) were graduate international students (n = 623) attending a western US land-grant university. Findings show students' credit card knowledge was low, attitudes were favourable, and pre-US experiences limited. A majority of respondents had obtained cards, followed commonly recommended practices, and were satisfied with their credit card use.     

Textile characteristics,laundering and the environment

The environmental impact of laundering is dependent on the laundry methods used by households. This study investigates the relation between laundry methods (frequency, load size and wash temperature) and the composition of wash loads. Three definitions for the composition of wash loads are used: the respondent's classification and two objective definitions. These are constructed in two different ways from three specific characteristics of the textiles: colour, textile fibre and the type of article. The data are from a survey with a 2-week diary about laundry practices of 1026 Dutch households in 1990. The results show that all three definitions of the composition of wash loads can explain one factor of the laundry method, wash temperature; frequency and load size, however, are not influenced by the composition of the wash load.     

Laundry routine and resource consumption in Australia

Inconspicuous consumption, the habitual use of resources in daily routines, poses a challenge to sustainable consumption. For example, laundry is often the most environmentally demanding stage of clothing's life cycle, consuming significant quantities of water, energy and chemicals. Laundry thus provides a prime example of inconspicuous consumption, from which to consider sustainability transitions. However, because of the mundane nature of washing clothes, it is sometimes over looked in sustainable fashion literature. This paper presents the results of surveying 263 Australians about their jeans, laundry habits and resource consumption, to build a picture of the expectations and actions surrounding the performance of cleanliness in everyday life. These surveys are triangulated against in‐depth interviews with people who had not washed their jeans for three months revealing qualitative insights into influences of laundry practice. This paper documents how and why people perform laundry. An interesting finding is that people can not wash and still be socially acceptable, suggesting that cleanliness is a cultural construct, the pursuit of which increases the use of water, energy and chemicals, in conflict with sustainable consumption goals.     

Government monitored codes of practice in the United Kingdom

This article examines the operation of codes of practice in the United Kingdom. It is concerned with those codes of practice which, though initially prepared by various trade associations, are brought into operation only after consultation with and approval by the Office of Fair Trading. After briefly explaining the statutory background and scope of the nineteen current codes (listed in the Appendix), the author discusses three aspects. First, do codes improve consumers' rights? The codes generally both recite selectively the rights of consumers under the existing law and add to those rights by recommending ameliorating trade practices. Examples are given of existing rights and, more extensively, of such recommended improvements. The question is raised whether the aggregation of legal rights and suggested practices may lead to confusion for consumers. Secondly, the monitoring of codes is considered. Monitoring is undertaken by the Office of Fair Trading to discover the degree of compliance by members of trade associations; reports on the laundry, footwear and motoring codes are used as illustrations. The third issue is viewed as crucial — the need for sanctions for non-compliance and the problem of enforcing the standards set by the codes. It is suggested that an extension of the “assurance” procedure under Part III of the Fair Trading Act 1973 may offer a solution, or more contentiously, that the creation of a new statutory duty “to trade fairly” could provide the answer.     

The effect of phosphate detergent bans on consumer clothing expenditures

Metropolitan sales data from the 1977 Census of Retail Trade were analysed to test whether phosphate detergent bans increased consumer expenditure on clothing: positive effects were found for men's clothing and domestic fabrics (sheets and towels). In areas with medium water hardness the average annual cost in 1977 equalled $11·08 per household. For 1984, the equivalent cost was $14·17 per household. These results are consistent with laboratory studies that show decreased detergency associated with non-phosphate detergents and increased fabric wear associated with carbonate-built detergents, the principle substitute for phosphate detergents. The bans impose the largest cost on hard water areas. In both ban and non-ban areas in 1977 higher laundering costs were associated with higher water hardness. Analysis of 1972 data indicated that water hardness did not affect clothing expenditures significantly when detergents contained large amounts of phosphates.     

The impact of natural disaster on absenteeism, job satisfaction, and job performance of survival employees: An empirical study of the survivors in Wenchuan Earthquake

Natural disasters cause serious damage to businesses in the stricken areas and greatly affect survivors’ psychology and behaviors. Based on data from 206 survival employees in 33 affected firms in Wenchuan Earthquake, this study analyzes the impact of natural disaster on absenteeism, job satisfaction, and job performance of survival employees. Results indicate that after the earthquake, survival employees’ absenteeism and job satisfaction (including intrinsic, extrinsic, and general job satisfaction) decrease significantly, but their task performance, contextual performance, and overall job performance improve significantly. Employees’ learning and innovative performance have no significant change in comparison with that before the earthquake. The authors thus suggest that the affected businesses need to communicate with the survival employees actively, focus more on job security, compensation and working conditions, in order to maintain these employees’ job satisfaction. In addition, enterprises outside the affected areas should give priority to the recruitment of the survival employees given the same conditions, because it is beneficial to both the employing enterprises and the reconstruction of affected areas.     

Retail Centres: Location and Consumer's Satisfaction

Analysts rarely consider that commercial malls offer a global service to the consumer. It is commonly assumed that the consumers' decision concerning the place they choose usually for shopping depends essentially on the distance to the mall. This paper shows that, for such decisions, the consumer's satisfaction (an indicator widely used for evaluating the quality of a service) plays at least an equally important role in metropolitan areas where commercial zones are numerous enough to lead consumers to choice decisions. How the consumer builds up his/her satisfaction is the second point of this article. Different aspects (perception of shopping possibilities, expected pricing practices, general global environment) of each commercial zone do combine in the consumer's mind producing satisfaction or dissatisfaction. In these combinations, access conditions appear clearly to play a secondary role. It confirms that the two variables (access and satisfaction) are independently assessed by consumers. The city centre pedestrian streets are generally evaluated by the consumers with the same criteria as the outer commercial malls but they differ on some important aspects. These differences distinctly arise from specific consumers expectations towards the two kinds of commercial zones.     

Online personalized recommended product quality and e-impulse buying: A conditional mediation analysis

Consumer lifestyle and purchasing behavior have been significantly transformed over the past few years. At present, internet technologies make it possible for consumers to order goods and services on a go or in real-time without physically visiting traditional store outlets. This phenomenon calls for a change in marketing strategy to be able to reach consumers wherever they are. Accordingly, online marketing techniques such as personalized product/service recommendation, which makes products available to consumers, optimizing their interests and buying experience, are primal to market development.Therefore, this study examines whether or not online consumers' (1) E-impulse buying (EIB) behavior is influenced by personalized recommended product quality (RPQ), (2) affective image (IMAGE) of, and satisfaction (SAT) with recommended products mediate the RPQ-EIB link, and (3) online review stimulus (ORS) moderated the direct RPQ-EIB and indirect PRQ-EIB through affective image and satisfaction. Data was collected from consumers on five (5) online shops in China (N = 947). The Results showed that (i) RPQ had significant positive influence on EIB, (ii) the RPQ-EIB relation was partly explained by consumers' affective image of, and satisfaction with recommended products, and (iii) the direct and indirect relations between RPQ and EIB were sensitive to consumers’ ORS. Theoretical and practical implications, limitations and direction for future studies were also discussed in this study.     

The adoption of sustainable laundry technologies by US consumers

The adoption of sustainable laundry technologies by US consumers has lagged behind that of other countries and even behind the projections for adoption made by the US government. Most US household currently own and use the top‐loading vertical axis (v‐axis) agitator type washers, which use large amounts of water as well as additional energy to heat the water. More sustainable laundry practices include the use of energy‐ and water‐efficient front‐loading horizontal‐axis (h‐axis) washers. These washers have been demonstrated to use 38% less water and 58% less energy than the standard top‐loading v‐axis models. The adoption of more energy‐efficient washing technologies is of interest to many, including policy makers, because of their water‐ and energy‐saving potential. Little is known about the attributes and issues consumers use in their decision to adopt high‐efficiency washers for their home. This study uses Roger's Diffusion of Innovations Theory to understand the adoption of h‐axis washers by US consumers. An online survey of 330 consumers who own washing machines found that 23% currently own h‐axis washers and 24% of consumers intend to purchase an h‐axis when they replace their top‐loading vertical (v‐axis) washers. Energy and water savings are the most frequently cited reasons overall for adopting the h‐axis washer and cost was the main reason for not adopting the technology. Other issues, such as dissatisfaction with cleaning power and problems with machine cleanliness and maintenance, did not play a major role in adoption. Specific marketing and education channels, where US consumers are looking for information about h‐axis washers, are also identified. Overall, the results suggest that the rate of h‐axis adoption in the US is accelerating, but that many of the benefits of the technology are not easily observed by non‐owners.     

Time Affluence as a Path toward Personal Happiness and Ethical Business Practice: Empirical Evidence from Four Studies

Many business practices focus on maximizing material affluence, or wealth, despite the fact that a growing empirical literature casts doubt on whether money can buy happiness. We therefore propose that businesses consider the possibility of “time affluence” as an alternative model for improving employee well-being and ethical business practice. Across four studies, results consistently showed that, even after controlling for material affluence, the experience of time affluence was positively related to subjective well-being. Studies 3 and 4 further demonstrated that the experience of mindfulness and the satisfaction of psychological needs partially mediated the positive associations between time affluence and well-being. Future research directions and implications for ethical business practices are discussed.     

Social Media Usage by Law Firms: Correlation to Revenue,Reputation, and Practice Areas

Social media can be used for multiple purposes within the legal profession, such as client development, networking, disseminating information, and building awareness of the firm and its practices. This study found that the more social media platforms a firm uses, the higher its ranking among prestigious law firms. Based on the practices of successful law firms, it is recommended that lawyers maintain LinkedIn and Twitter accounts as a way to connect with clients and the public. Findings indicate that additional platforms are beneficial, based on the practice areas of a firm. Guidelines are provided for composing effective social media messages.     

Consumers' Perceptions of Online and Offline Retailer Deception: A Moderated Mediation Analysis

This research examines the effects of consumers' perceptions of retailers' deceptive practices on their evaluations of online and offline retailers. Results from two samples of consumers (shopping in online versus offline channels) show the direct and indirect influence of consumers' perceptions of retailers' deceptive practices on consumers' evaluations, including product satisfaction, retailer satisfaction and word-of-mouth. Perceptions of deception influence retailer satisfaction through product satisfaction, and word-of-mouth through retailer satisfaction. These mediated effects are further moderated by the online vs. offline purchase channel. Implications for theory and management are discussed.     

Time Affluence as a Path toward Personal Happiness and Ethical Business Practice: Empirical Evidence from Four Studies

Many business practices focus on maximizing material affluence, or wealth, despite the fact that a growing empirical literature casts doubt on whether money can buy happiness. We therefore propose that businesses consider the possibility of “time affluence” as an alternative model for improving employee well-being and ethical business practice. Across four studies, results consistently showed that, even after controlling for material affluence, the experience of time affluence was positively related to subjective well-being. Studies 3 and 4 further demonstrated that the experience of mindfulness and the satisfaction of psychological needs partially mediated the positive associations between time affluence and well-being. Future research directions and implications for ethical business practices are discussed.     

Consumer laundry practices in Germany

Sustainability is a guiding principle for a responsible, future‐oriented 21st century lifestyle and this already begins in private households with the daily household tasks. Approximately 25% of an average household's electricity consumption is required to do the laundry and dishwashing – 5% alone is for washing clothes with a corresponding energy consumption of 6 billion kilowatt hours. In addition, 600 000 tonnes of detergent and 330 million cubic metres of water are used for textile care in Germany. These figures provide the rationale for the scientific study of current practices of using washing machines and for a resulting estimate of the latent energy‐saving potential in German households. In the context of the in‐home study presented here, 236 private households throughout Germany were studied with respect to their washing practices and existing knowledge about topics on the sustainable, energy‐saving use of their washing machines. Overall, across all households 2867 wash cycles were individually recorded and subsequently analysed over a 4‐week period. The results of this study show that washing machines tend to be underloaded, and therefore maximum loading of the machines could lead to a reduction of wash cycles per household. With respect to detergent dosage, it was determined that the consumer does not adjust the dosage to the textile type, load size, soil level and/or water hardness, and this can lead to under‐ or overdosing depending on prevailing conditions. Finally, the selection of the wash temperature showed a 90°C/95°C programme was only chosen in 2.3% of all recorded wash cycles, however, every fourth cycle was completed at 60°C. Therefore, adjusting the load size and detergent dosage as well as selecting the right wash temperature are key themes to be taken into account in future consumer communication about energy‐saving households.     

Governance of Eco-Labels: Expert Opinion and Media Coverage

“Eco-labels” are an increasingly important form of private regulation for sustainability in areas such as carbon emissions, water consumption, ethical sourcing, or organic produce. The growing interest and popularity of eco-labels has also been coupled with growing concerns about their credibility, in part because the standard-setting and conformity assessment practices that eco-labels adopt exhibit striking differences. In this paper, we assess which assurance practices contribute to eco-labels being perceived as better governed, in the eyes of experts as well as the media. Unlike previous studies, which are mostly conceptual, qualitative, or focused on one or few eco-labels, we study a large set of eco-labels, combining data from three different sources. Our findings suggest that experts and media are primarily concerned about “re-assurance” practices, looking for one or preferably multiple layers of “re-assurance” that independent parties are overseeing the eco-label and the firms certified under it.