Meet Oxwash: Laundry and Dry Cleaning, But not as you know it!

Kyle Grant, ex-NASA scientist and synthetic biologist is the CEO and founder of Oxwash, the disruptive laundry company operating in London, Oxford and Cambridge. Upon interviewing Kyle on the conception of Oxwash, he elucidated his past struggle using local laundrettes in the middle of the night as a key driver to create a unique, more efficient model. Kyle highlighted how backward the traditional processes of a laundry are, describing what he witnessed as similar to a ‘victorian sweathouse’ with workers paid minimum wage, and excessive waste of water, energy and chemicals. The Oxwash model of on demand laundry and delivery by bikes only, is inspired by the increasingly pertinent ‘dark kitchen model’, currently adopted by many platforms like Deliveroo. This translated into using industrial, futuristic shipping containers for operations in localised areas, with logistics managed entirely with bikes, reducing the overall carbon footprint of the business. 

Kyle describes Oxwash’s business model as “hyper-flexibility underpinned by sustainability”, where technology and innovation are core.

The technology is present not only in the effortless consumer facing app and online booking, but also in the chemistry and operations. Traditional cleaning services most commonly use high temperatures, bleach and solvents from crude oil , typically perchloroethylene (Perc) that is not only detrimental to the planet when disposed of, but also carcinogenic to humans, causing skin irritation and longer term health implications. Oxwash are revolutionising the industry with their innovative cleaning process, using lower temperatures of 20 degrees celsius along with enzymes, ozone, silver nano and UV to disinfect garments with zero impact on the environment. 

Kyle shockingly states that almost 20% of all Greenhouse Gas emissions come from the Laundry and Cleaning industry which only reinforces the need for reinvented laundry models that are kinder to the planet. Not only are the chemicals, waste and energy detrimental to the environment, but also to the garments themselves. Traditional cleaning and dry cleaning processes negatively impact the longevity of clothes, largely opposing Save Your Wardrobe’s vision to support users to reconnect with, and extend the life of their garments in an effort to be more conscious of the environmental impact of production and consumption of the fashion industry. Oxwash have quantified their impact, stating that they are reducing emissions by 6700kg of CO2 saved per bike per year; 32 Litres of water saved per 8kg wash, and 100 million microfibres of plastic waste filtered per day.

Oxwash offers all laundry and wet cleaning services for your personal and business needs through just a few simple steps on their website or app. Their ‘Concierge Collection’ service makes laundry even easier, as you no longer need to separate or inventory your laundry bag, they will sort it out for you.

Try Oxwash’s sustainable yet efficient service in the ‘Services’ Tab on the Save Your Wardrobe app now, in an effort to move towards a more conscious lifestyle.