Airing Clean Laundry

While laundry is about water (see other article on Household Water Usage), this essay is about status symbols. Starting by looking at the energy used in drying our clean clothes, i end with the challenge of creating status symbols appropriate for our situation today.

Today, in India brands abound and the rich are using more energy to dry clothes.
For example, most using washing machines, use higher speeds in spin cycles using to dry clothes. And some have dryers in this tropical country!

Though, i am happy that hanging clothes out to dry is still acceptable in all parts of India.


Originally, published in HaasWeek, the newspaper of the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley in 1996.

Continue reading “Airing Clean Laundry” »