As recently reported in the Guardian, new research from the University of Leeds suggests cooler washes on a shorter wash cycle is the most eco-friendly way to wash your clothes.

Now this may not seem like new news, we've been long supporters of cooler washes for ages, but the research suggests that the drop from 30C to 25C degrees in temperature makes a big difference. Combined with the shorter wash time, there is less potential for micro fibres, particularly synthetic fibres (micro-plastic) to be washed down our drains.

What's important to note is that the tests undertaken by the clever people at the University of Leeds were not looking at cleanliness performance - they were purely looking at the environmental impact.

At Wilton, we believe these small steps are worth while. We suggest using our Laundry Liquid on cooler washes - in fact hot washes aren't much helpful at all. If anything, they often help stains settle in. A little heat can be helpful with oily soiling, but even then, we would only suggest up to 40C.

One thing we think is worth mentioning - short washes do use less energy but it does mean it's much harder to get a good wash out of heavily soiled items. So for that we still suggest a normal wash time. This is because if the stains do not come out, they will require another wash which will end up using more energy - so it has the potential of being a false eco economy.

We also suggest washing synthetic materials on a delicates wash, this greatly reduces the amount of micro-fibres released from your clothes - like your smelly gym kit! Another thing you can do, is avoid synthetic fibres all together!

Our laundry detergent liquid is a delicate laundry detergent so it helps reduce micro-fibres. Our formulas are also fully biodegradable and we don't use nasty bioaccumulating ingredients like optical whiteners / brighteners - so if you use our Wilton Laundry range and wash at lower temperatures you can be sure your washing has a low impact on our planet.

P.s. our bottles use recyclable plastic and are fully recyclable too!