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The idea behind the FAB Talks is to combine refreshing fashion talks in an inspiring environment with business networking in an innovative way, in order to stimulate exciting discussions on the topic of fashion and have open questions clarified by experts. The vision is to build an interdisciplinary network and, in the long term, to initiate and implement projects together.

On September 27, 2018, a new round of FABtalks was due, and once again it headed to a new city in Germany. On the beautiful roof terrace of the F&K Studio, we brought an exciting topic to Stuttgart: Care Labels – with the guiding question "How much care is really behind the symbols?". The evening was once again introduced with an atmospheric "art" component: the singer-songwriter duo DIPTYCH provided a relaxed flair at sunset.

SUSTAINABLE FASHION AND THE CARE LABEL PROJECT

Andrea Bury, founder of ABURY and the FABtalks, introduced the guests to the evening's topic. When it comes to the subject of sustainability in fashion, the discussion always revolves around sustainable production, and how designers and manufacturers can make a garment more sustainable before it even goes on sale. But it is rarely about how consumers can handle their clothes more sustainably. What happens to a product after it has been purchased, and how can consumers ensure that a favorite piece lasts a lifetime and does not have to be disposed of prematurely?

ABURY has connected this question with the Care Label Project by AEG: Care labels are outdated and lead to many misunderstandings. Due to misinformation on the labels (which are simply not adapted to the modern technical progress of washing machines and dryers), garments are often not cared for appropriately. The Care Label Project aims to educate on this and has teamed up with 14 designers and labels (including ABURY) to revolutionize laundry care and instill new washing habits. The introduced "Don’t Overwash" care label is intended to clarify this, with the core message that the principle of "more is better" no longer applies today.

Summary of the key points from the presentations:

TIM LABENDA, DESIGNER

Tim Labenda is a designer for a women’s wear brand in Berlin and also one of the designers who is part of the Care Label Project. His collections are primarily characterized by timelessness. For Tim Labenda, this is one of the most important criteria: A garment should last a long time, and you should be able to combine it in new ways time and again, wearing and loving it for a lifetime. What also distinguishes his products is a strong emphasis on artisanal production. Similar to ABURY, Tim Labenda believes in working against the extinction of craftsmanship – which is why unusual and traditional techniques such as bobbin lace making, felting, or embroidery are used in his collections.

According to Tim, a product is primarily characterized by its material: with a great material, the design can be as simple as you like. Wool is one of the most special materials in the world because it is very versatile. The innovative handling of wool ensured that Tim Labenda won the International Woolmark Prize, which also led to his connection with AEG and the Care Label Project (Woolmark and AEG have been working closely together for years).

As a designer, people don’t like to talk about care labels. In fact, many designers mark the care labels in their garments with a "dry clean only" symbol, just to avoid complaints. Through the Care Label Project, however, Tim Labenda was convinced that this is absolutely not necessary and has adapted his care labels to include a simple laundry recipe under the heading: DON’T OVERWASH. After all, materials like wool in particular do not need to be washed, and shouldn't be washed, as often as one might think. Just because a garment is high-priced does not mean it is more robust – rather, it means that the materials and workmanship are so high-quality that one should handle them with extra care. We learned the best way to do this in the next presentation.

MICHAEL WOLF, AEG LAUNDRY EXPERT

As a product manager for washing appliances at AEG, Michael Wolf is an expert in the field of "garment care." And that starts with the correct interpretation of care labels: Many consumers are not even aware, for example, that a wash tub symbol with two lines means that one should use a delicate or wool cycle at most.

The hand-wash symbol, on the other hand, is known to many, but this hides the first classic washing myth: a hand-wash symbol does not mean that a garment does not belong in the washing machine. In fact, hand washing and the friction of clothing can cause textiles like wool to felt and become damaged. Many modern washing machines have a hand-wash program that washes laundry particularly gently.

He continued with the dryer symbol. A symbol with two dots means that it can be dried at a high temperature. Since modern dryers are mostly heat-pump dryers that are very effective but dry at very low temperatures, this symbol is just as misleading as the crossed-out symbol, which signals that the garment does not belong in the dryer. Thanks to the gentle mechanics of modern dryers, even delicate materials such as wool or silk can now be dried. The surface of silk textiles usually becomes significantly softer and more supple due to drying.

At the end of his presentation, Michael Wolf gave us a few valuable tips on the subject of sustainability: Dry cleaning should be avoided as much as possible, even if the care label says so. Here, one should ask whether the garment has bonded components in its construction (such as suit jackets). In that case, these can dissolve upon contact with water. In most other cases, a piece can also be washed in the washing machine using the appropriate care program.

The rule is: washing at low temperatures is often perfectly sufficient in terms of results and is more sustainable. Only underwear and bed linen should be washed at 60 degrees – this also does the machine good every now and then, as it can clean itself this way. Furthermore, long washing programs should be preferred over short programs, as they are more energy-efficient: the energy consumption of short programs is actually very high due to the rapid heating. Additionally, enzymes in detergents often need some time to take effect, and therefore the effect may be lost in short programs. A short program should therefore only be selected if it really has to be quick.

One last valuable tip: Don't always put everything straight into the washing machine; air it out first, or use a steam program if the machine offers one. During a steam program, the laundry does not get completely wet, but is only treated with steam. These programs are particularly energy-saving and at the same time very effective.

Q&A SESSION

In a subsequent Q&A session, a few more interesting points were raised:

• To cater even more to consumer needs, AEG is working on an app function through which the machine itself can be configured. There are to be only 10 pre-installed programs, and other programs can be activated via the app as desired.

• When asked how sustainable detergents differ from conventional ones, Michael Wolf clarified: The biodegradability of the surfactants in sustainable products is different and better. Surfactants are used that are more expensive, which is why sustainable products are also often more expensive. A recommended brand, for example, is Frosch.

• Another exciting topic: microplastics. AEG is currently researching solutions for how to avoid the problem of microplastics in water, but so far there are only approaches. There is the possibility of filtering out microplastics with very fine filters, but this also filters out the dirt, and then the question arises as to how to clean the filter and how often. The current solution is laundry bags that catch the microplastics so the contents can be disposed of in the trash.

• There were also a few questions on the subject of underwear: How do I wash lace underwear? According to Michael Wolf, lace should not be washed at 60 degrees. Here, it is best to choose a 30-degree program and add some bleach – this kills the bacteria.

• What is the best way to wash underwired bras? Although this is also one of the washing myths, underwired bras do not have to be washed by hand. You can wash them in a normal wash cycle, but you should protect them in a laundry net. This prevents the wire from migrating out of the bra and damaging other laundry. The same applies, by the way, to sneakers: simply place them individually in a laundry net and wash them along – this prevents other garments and the washing drum from being damaged.

We would like to thank our partners AEG, Flair Fashion&Home, and Dr. Hauschka.

UNTIL NEXT TIME!