Doing your laundry in an environmentally friendly way can be pretty easy. On this page we have listed a few tips on how you can do your laundry in a sustainable and environmentally conscious way without much effort, saving time and money at the same time. At the end, we have added some brief explanations of the icons shown on the care labels in your "LIVING CRAFTS" clothing and home textiles.

A few simple principles

Although we should try not to wash our clothes more often than necessary, it is nevertherless advisable to wash heavily soiled laundry as soon as possible. Left for too long, dirt hardens in the fabric and requires more time-consuming washing. In addition, it is always advisable to sort your laundry according to the degree of soiling, so that detergent and temperature can be individually adjusted to each load. In the case of heavily soiled laundry, it may also make sense to pre-treat it manually. For generally soiled laundry, prewashing can be dispensed with without any problems, thus saving energy.

Selecting the correct water temperature

Modern, environmentally friendly detergents have been developed to achieve high washing performance at lower temperatures. The temperature specifications on the care labels indicate the maximum temperature admissible for the respective garment. To wash as energy-efficiently as possible, always adjust the washing temperature to the degree of soiling of your laundry.

Load efficiency

Whether fully loaded or half-empty, the energy requirements of your washing machine does not differ significantly. Therefore, try to optimally utilise the volume of your machine. The only thing you should avoid to do is overloading your machine, thus increasing energy consumption again. The instruction manual of your washing machine will provide you with helpful information on how to optimally load your device.

Your detergent (also) matters

Environmentally friendly detergents are an important start. But here, too, the dosage is important. Check the water hardness in your area, which is often indicated on the website of your local water company, and match the required dosage bases on the information on the packaging of your detergent. For environmental reasons, we recommend using detergents without bleach.

Drying your laundry

Letting your laundry dry on the line, in the fresh air or on a clothes horse, is best both for the environment and your textiles. Should you use a dryer, please follow the instructions on the care labels inside your clothes.

Ironing your clothes

Wenn es ans Bügeln geht schauen Sie zuerst auf die Stoff-Art. Nicht alle Stoffe müssen gebügelt werden. Viele Stoffe wie zum Beispiel bestimmte Feinripp-Stricke, ziehen sich bei Tragen auch ganz automatisch glatt. Probieren Sie es doch einfach mal aus. Beim Bügeln selber sparen Sie Zeit und Energie, wenn das Kleidungsstück noch ein bisschen feucht ist. Und von links zu bügeln schont das Material, und erhöht die Lebensdauer ihrer Textilien.

When it comes to ironing, first look for the fabric type. Not all fabrics need to be ironed. Many fabrics, such as certain fine-rib knits, smooth out automatically when worn. Just give it a try. When ironing, you can save time and energy if the fabricis still slightly damp. In additon, ironing from the wrong side protects the material and increases the lifespan of your textiles.

Additional care instructions

Wash similar colors together.

Washing and ironing clothes inside out protects the wear side.

Pull into shape while damp after washing; untreated clothes can shrink up to 5%.

Care-Icons

The icons on your textiles' care labels are an important guide for sustainable laundry too. We would like to briefly introduce them to you and explain the meaning behind each of them.

Washing

Standard wash cycle: The number inside in the wash icon indicates the maximum water temperature that should not be exceeded.

Gentle wash cycle: If a single bar is shown below the wash icon the gentle wash cycle should be used.

Special or delicate wash cycle: If two bars are shown below the wash icon, only the delicate cycle or a comparable special wash option should be chosen.

Hand wash: these textiles must only be washed by hand. The water temperature should never exceed 40°C. Please use a special detergent suitable for the respective fibre, which should be well dissolved in the water before adding the laundry. The laundry should be gently agitated in the water, but never be rubbed or wrung out. At the end, rinse carefully and squeeze gently.

Do not wash.

Bleaching

Do not bleach: Ordinary all-purpose detergents sometimes contain oxygen bleach. For environmental reasons, we recommend that you only use bleach-free detergents.

Tumble drying

Tumble dryer icon with two dots: these textiles can be dryed on normal tumble dryer settings.

Ein Punkt im Trockner-Symbol: die Trocknung im Wäschetrockner ist mit reduzierter thermischer Behandlung möglich.Tumble dryer icon with one dot: these textiles can be dryed on reduced heat.

Crossed out dryer symbol: these textiles are not suitable for tumble drying.

Ironing

Most irons show the "dot" icons on the temperature settings, in addition to other indicators. These "dot" icons correspond with the ironing temperature icons on your textiles' care labels:

Hot ironing possible: Ideally, iron your laundry while still slightly damp or dampen it before ironing. An ironing cloth is recommended for pieces that are sensitive to shine and pressure. Steaming or using the steam iron is also possible at this setting.

Moderately hot ironing possible: use an ironing cloth for delicate pieces and try to avoid heavy pressing and pulling.

Low temperature setting: ironing is only possible at low temperature for such garments. You should be particularly careful when ironing with steam. In this case too, we recommend using an ironing cloth for sensitive areas.

Do NOT iron: these textiles are NOT suitable for ironing.

Professional textile care

Do NOT dry-clean: dry cleaning is NOT possible for textiles labelled with this icon.

Sustainable Shipping with DHL GoGreen Plus

We are taking the next step in climate protection! To make our shipping even more sustainable for you, we now use the DHL GoGreen Plus service.

Unlike traditional GoGreen shipping, which offsets emissions after they occur through global climate projects, GoGreen Plus focuses on true 'insetting'. This means DHL actively reduces CO₂ emissions directly within its own transport and delivery chain.

DHL’s key measures include:

• Using alternative fuels (e.g., biogas, bio-LNG, HVO100, and Sustainable Aviation Fuel)
• Expanding e-mobility and utilizing electric delivery vehicles
• Sustainable investments in green infrastructure and eco-friendly buildings

Choosing this shipping option incurs no extra costs or delays for you. Together, we are lowering the ecological footprint of every delivery.

Within Germany, our S&H charge per order is 5,95€, with free shipping for orders over 55€.

Free shipping for orders more than 150€ within the EU.

Please refer to the list below for shipping and handling for customers without Germany:

• 9,- € Austria, France, Luxemburg, Belgium, The Netherlands
• 11,- € Italy, Sweden, Spain, Finland
• 12,-€, Denmark,Czech Republic, Poland
• 14,-€, Liechtenstein, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia,
• 17,-€ Ireland, Norway, Great Britain, Greece, Portugal, Romania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania
• 25,-€ Cyprus, Malta, Turkey, Ukraine, Iceland
• 50,-€ China, Japan, Canada, United Arab Emirates, New Zealand, Kazakhstan, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, Uruguay, USA, Venezuela

Any import duties or customs raised in third countries (e.g. Great Britain, Norway, Switzerland, USA) are to be borne by the customer. More information on import duties can be found here. Details on import turnover tax can be found here, and especially for Switzerland here.

Unfortunately, Living Crafts is not in a position to send goods poste restante or to post office boxes. Thank you for your understanding.

_______________________

Terms of sale and delivery for B2B customers from 01.01.2022

Minimum order value/order: 120,00€

In case of shortfall surcharge to the amount of: 21,00€ / net

Annual minimum order value: 1.000,00€

Shipping with DHLgogreen, delivery time 3-5 days, shipping Costs per package up to 31,5 kg:

5,95€ Germany

16,99€ Belgium, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Liechtenstein

18,99€ Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain

22,99€ Norway, Great Britain, Ireland, Greece, Portugal, Bulgaria, Romania, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania

Orders over 500€ postage free within the EU.

Countries not listed, inside and outside of Europe:

Shipping costs/weight and number of cartons on request

Resale via online marketplace www.avocadostore.de is not permitted.

*Note on GoGreen Plus shipping: Decarbonization measures take place within the Deutsche Post and DHL logistics network. This does not necessarily mean that your specific individual shipment is physically transported by an electric or biogas vehicle. However, the reduced emissions are firmly allocated and audited within the network.