General Care Tips

To help you care for your Gorman clothing we have put together some cleaning tips and general care information for a range of fibres and fabrics in our collections. Click below for more information.

 

 

Care Labels

Checking the care instructions on your Gorman designs are the most important aspect of garment care. These instructions help to:

• Maintain Fabric Quality 
• Minimise Color Fading
• Prevent Shrinkage and Stretching
• Protect Delicate Fabrics and Special Techniques
• Extend Garment Life 

By following these instructions, you'll help preserve the quality and longevity of your beloved Gorman clothing, ensuring they continue to brighten your wardrobe for seasons to come!

 

Lower Impact Clothing Care

Use these tips to extend the life of your clothing and reduce the environmental impact of cleaning them.

Wash Less:

Over time frequent washing can fade colours, cause slight shrinkage, loss of shape, and fabric wear. Increasing the time between wash cycles is more environmentally friendly as it saves energy and water while also extending the lifespan of your cherished Gorman pieces. Keep your clothes fresh and clean without laundering through:

• Spot Stain Removal: Treat stains quickly with targeted techniques suited to the specific fabrics and stains. Check out our recommended methods and tips for effective spot cleaning for each fibre further down this page. 
• Airing Out: After wearing air your clothing out near a window or outside to freshen them up without fading colors. Avoid direct sunlight to preserve the vibrancy of the colours. 
• Garment Steaming: Refresh clothing by steaming away wrinkles and odours. This gentle method can help worn garments regain their shape between washes.

Limit Dry Cleaning/ Use Chemical-Free Dry Cleaners:

Wherever possible we make Gorman designs machine and hand wash friendly to limit the need for dry cleaning your clothes.  For any items that do need occasional dry cleaning, we recommend searching for a more environmentally friendly chemical-free dry cleaner in your area. These dry cleaners avoid using toxic chemicals such as Perchloroethylene (PERC) and instead use a range of dry and water-based wet cleaning methods. This is better for the environment and also better for your health as you won’t have these chemicals close to your skin.

 

No Chemical Wash: 

To reduce chemicals in your laundry:

• Replace bleach with distilled white vinegar as a natural approach to removing odours, mould, and mildew while brightening whites.
• To naturally soften and scent your clothes, swap fabric softener with a mixture of warm water, baking soda, white vinegar, and essential oils. 
• Use half the detergent recommended on the packing to reduce soap build-up in your machine and on your clothing while reducing the impact of your wash.
• Buy eco-friendly laundry detergents.
• Explore soap berries as a 100% natural detergent option. (See links at bottom of page)

Washing inside out:

Washing your clothing inside out can help prevent colours from bleeding and  fading. This method exposes the inside of your garments to the agitation of the washing process rather than the outside which can reduce pilling, protect special fabric techniques, and help extend the life of your clothing. 

 

Separating Laundry:

• Separate your laundry into whites, lights, and darks and wash separately to preserve the vibrancy of colours and prevent colour bleeding and fading.
• Before washing garments together check the care labels of every garment to make sure they can be washed in the same way. As some fabrics need different wash temperatures and spin cycles, you may need to separate laundry based on fabrics too.
• Separate laundry by level of dirtiness to ensure dirt is not transferred to cleaner items and dirty items are washed intensively enough to clean them properly.
• Use laundry bags for items that have special techniques or delicate fabrics to prevent items snagging on each other and causing surface damage.
• Wash clothing made from synthetic fibres in marine-friendly washing bags to stop microplastics from shedding and being released into our waterways . You can also buy filters for your washing machine that collect microplastics automatically, before being easily emptied into the bin.

 

Washing Cold/ Low Temperature Washing:

Cold washing is a great way to extend the life of your clothing and prevent colour bleeding.  This  is one of the most significant ways to reduce the environmental impact of laundering. Cold washing is just as effective as using hot water for most loads of washing and can be more effective for removing some stains, such as blood and sweat. If you have clothing that needs more intensive washing, consider only raising the temperature to 30 degree as this uses a lot less energy than hotter temperatures. 

 

Avoid Tumble Drying:

Avoid tumble drying whenever possible as it is very energy intensive. If you do need to tumble dry use a low to medium heat setting and promptly remove your garments to minimize wrinkles and prevent any potential shrinkage or damage. Consider using reusable organic wool dryer balls in your machine to soften clothes, speed up the drying process and replace disposable dryer sheets.