[neoteo]

Focusing on the fabric as the problem ignores the other major issue of the wasteful way we clean our clothes. This could potentially be much improved if we developed alternative ways of cleaning our clothes that didn’t waste resources and pollute as much as the current system: using lots of water, energy to heat the water, detergents to clean, energy to generate friction and circulation, dumping the waste into nature. Are there any current efforts/research into new and better (efficient & sustainable) fabric cleaning systems?

[Angostura]

I think we've been working quite hard on that problem. Most of the detergents I use today (in the UK) are now cold water detergents, that don't need warm water for every day use. Modern front-loading washing machines use about 50 litres (10 gallons) for a full load - about a fifth of old top-loaders.

I seem to recall some research into using ultrasound to clean fabrics, but I'm not sure where we are on that.

[fyfy18]

Modern machines vary the water consumption based on the load, so in reality it's even less. On a 40c wash they will consume around 0.5kWh of electricity.

[Scoundreller]

And their spin cycles really pull out a lot of water.

[userbinator]

I've heard a lot that the new "high efficiency" washers are a bit of a joke; while they may use less resources, they also are far less effective at cleaning, which just causes users to run the cycle multiple times.

It somewhat reminds me of the old saying about optimisation in software: "The most efficient way to do something is to not do it at all."

Not exactly something to follow when it comes to cleaning, however...

[raverbashing]

You can always wash your clothes by hand using "natural" soaps (like coconut oil soap).

Then dry them using a clothesline, weather permitting.

[Scoundreller]

Use the clothesline indoors anyway.

Dryers ruin clothes, then you have to buy more.

[e12e]

You really want to uv treat your cold washed clothes, though (hang them outside). It kills bacteria about as well as bleach - see this subthread and story:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17069083

In particular (the now moved) :

http://www.dranniesexperiments.com/sunlight-testing

[Scoundreller]

Sure, if you can. But if you can’t...

Dunno how necessary it is to UV disinfect clothes after washing. We don’t live in a sterile world.

[e12e]

Note I said your "cold washed clothes". If you wash at 60C, there's no (great) need for additional sterilization.

Wash cold, and your just evenly distributing bacteria from your dirtiest items to your cleanest items...

[perl4ever]

Well, we live in a world that's bombarded with UV, so there could be some drawback to living in an environment artificially shielded from it. Both may be nonsterile, but that doesn't imply they are the same.

[bamboozled]

This doesn’t fix some of the issues you mention, but helps stop microplastics from contaminating the environment.

http://guppyfriend.com/en/