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Steady at the helm

The German laundry and drycleaning sector is growing steadily this year, writes Eugene Gerden, as it sails into calmer waters after a rocky few years

Power surge

There is nothing wishy-washy about these big beast washer-extractors which are capable of powering through tons of product tirelessly while holding back on running costs

Plastic fibres time bomb in laundry effluent

You really need to read this, says Richard Neale of LTC Worldwide, who investigates research work which is revealing a potentially very serious worldwide problem with microplastics, and which is apparently not being addressed in any urgent way, even by national governments

Removal of difficult stains: Part 3

Colour/dye mark offs, hair dye and red wine can all present difficulties for the cleaner but except for plastic mark off from designer swing tags and so on their removal can be approached in a similar way. The use of hydrogen peroxide bleach was discussed in detail in the first article (March issue). However, don’t forget to do a colour check before you start.

A new Scandinavian quality control model

Scandinavian textile care associations team up to streamline quality control practices

Accessories, adornments, buttons and trims – Part 1

Textiles are littered with traps for the unwary cleaner. Roger Cawood and Richard Neale ­ag up problems and provide solutions

Oxwash leaves direct-to-consumer business behind as it concentrates on the bigger picture

UK
Oxwash has taken the major decision to indefinitely pause its direct-to-consumer service. The decision, which came into force on 28 April, was made so the company can focus operations and technology on reducing the impact of commercial laundry services, after witnessing the dramatic impact its service has had on businesses looking to make their operations more sustainable.

COPY CALL FOR JUNE UK LCN ISSUE

UK
It’s your opportunity to let us know your latest news and keep the industry informed of what you are up to! Kathy Bowry, LCN editor, is eager to hear from manufacturers, suppliers and operators who would like to be included in the June UK edition features, below. For these, she is looking for around 400 words – a mix of quotes from the company experts and product/services information and relevant photographs. Case studies that illustrate the benefits of the products/services are also of interest to our readers.

German and British ingenuity combines to reduce laundry pollution

INTERNATIONAL
According to Oxwash, founded as a sustainable laundry in the UK’s historic university town of Oxford in 2018, household laundry produces an average of 604 kg of CO2e per person per year. However, this is not the only problem; laundry also uses billions of litres of water each year, pollutes the world’s oceans with plastic fibres and endangers our own health with synthetic chemicals.

TSA conference kicks off at the home of England football

UK
The Textile Services Association (TSA) spring conference kicked off at St George’s Park, Burton-on-Trent, with acknowledgment of some great goals scored, according to Chair Charlie Betteridge and CEO David Stevens. Moving centre field to welcome delegates, of which there was a sell-out crowd, Betteridge summed up the performance of team textile care industry over the past seven months since the Autumn conference in 2022