Care

We all want to extend the life of our favorite clothes. Doing so also helps protect the environment. Marlies, our Quality Manager, sheds some light on sustainable washing:

Of course, there are already a few things to consider. Before you wash a garment, it’s important to take a look at the care label found on the inside seam of a garment. The care label shows washing instructions suitable for maintaining the piece’s best qualities. My team evaluates and tests the care instructions for every single style. We want to ensure that our customers have a long lasting garment with the best quality.

The care label gives information about water temperature, the kind of washing program and how the product should be ironed and dried. Knowing the correct temperature to wash our clothes is not only important to preserve the quality of the garment, but also for the environment. Lower washing temperatures have less impact on the environment. So if it is not necessary to wash clothes at 60°C, we should go for lower temperatures. On top of that, it would be even better to avoid unnecessary washing. From my personal experience I know that washing clothes is rather preferred than exposing them to fresh air.

With regard to the environment, air drying is the greenest way to go. It does not harm nature, nor does it consume energy.

In general all materials can be air dried, but there are some exceptions. A down jacket for example, needs to be tumbled after washing because otherwise the down gets lumpy. The jacket would simply lose its function. But sometimes there's just no time for air drying. In this case, I can only recommend to not overly dry the clothes and to not run the dryer any longer than necessary.

As with drying, the same can be applied to ironing your clothes: we should avoid it whenever possible. Clothes dried in a dryer often don’t need to be ironed. The important thing is to unload the dryer immediately after the cycle finishes. If clothes are folded immediately after drying, crinkles can be avoided. If we have to iron a garment, then we need to take a look at the care instructions. The symbols indicate the temperature at which it should be ironed. This is important to ensure that the piece maintains its shape and won’t be destroyed due to a too high temperature.

We believe it is our responsibility to also monitor quality and safety after products are in the hands of our customers. Being led by the “Right to know principle”, our customers have the right to know about our processes, our products, and our supply chain.

If there are ever complaints, we take them very seriously and have established a thorough internal investigation process. In case you have any concerns or questions, please don’t hesitate to contact customer service or sustainability@esprit.com.

In addition, we strive to support national authorities that are performing spot checks in our stores in markets around the world. In case there are serious doubts or concerns about the safety of any of our products that have already reached our shops, we have a swift and efficient recall process in place.