The impact of odour on laundering behaviour: an exploratory study

ABSTRACT

Detectable odour within clothing may influence how clothing is washed, leading consumers to make less sustainable choices than those for non-odorous clothing. This study was carried out to begin to explore the impact perceived odour may have on consumers’ laundering practices. Through a questionnaire distributed online it was found that half of the respondents reported changing laundering practices as a result of odour in clothing. Of those who altered their laundering behaviour, respondents were less likely to use cold water and more likely to use hot water to wash odorous clothing compared with how they would wash a typical load of laundry. Approximately one-third of respondents dry odorous clothing differently and were less likely to dry by machine. Therefore, odour build-up in clothing may only play a minor role on sustainable behaviour; but when odour does affect a change it can lead to less sustainable laundering practices.

KEYWORDS:

• Clothing
• odour
• laundry
• sustainability
• post-purchase consumer behaviour

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge Lauren Degenstein for assisting in the data collection. Ms Cunningham was supported through the Roger S. Smith Research award from the University of Alberta.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.