Challenges in commercial laundry
Though the high awareness prompts a changeover, it is not easy for commercial laundry brands to turn green. Suchithra Nair, interior designer and owner of Laundroroom, a recently launched self service laundry in Chennai lists the challenges thus. “Customer expectations are always high in the industry. They expect clean, professionally done laundry and timely delivery too.” Eventually Suchithra, also a green advocate, has plans to use natural detergents and solar panels for power supply and recycle used water.
Arjun suggests an alternative to commercial washing and the roadblocks in adapting to it. “Organic dry cleaning, that can be done using non-toxic and non-hazardous product is safe for air, water and soil. But, it is not feasible for the price-conscious Indian consumers. “The price difference between the natural and commercial products is a hugely discouraging factor,” points out Sunita.
What needs to be done
Preeti highlights the need to work on t
he brass tacks and tighten regulatory instruments to support and promote sustainability. “There is no regulation or license needed in India to manufacture detergents or disclose the ingredients.”
Arjun believes in reaching more consumers by being a tech-efficient brand with ease of process and offering a fine end user experience. In addition, he does his bit to popularize eco friendly laundry too. “We do guide the consumers how they can contribute indirectly towards their environment and water storage if they take Laundry Prime services. In fact, we help them with ways to do home laundry conserving water and avoiding hazards by using eco-friendly products. The awareness is certainly building up. Even among brands, mindful product building is also rising steadily.”
Rustic Art reaches out to the public to create more awareness. It ranges from discussing ways to save water to explaining why synthetics are bad. Sunita updates us on their approach. “We counsel them patiently regarding why natural has to be the norm of the life to sustain a healthy population on a healthy planet. Natural food, clothes, housing, home care and personal care products should rule the market and the heart of the consumers to minimize and regain the lost glory of the planet.”
The road ahead
Generation Next has to necessarily adopt a chemicalfree lifestyle, opines Sunita. “Natural has to be the norm of the life to nurture and sustain a healthy population on a healthy planet. Natural food, clothes, housing, home care and personal care products should rule the market and the heart of the consumers to minimize and recapture the lost glory of our planet earth.”
“We are the future,”Preeti is sure. As fresh water sources are shrinking, a lot of ecosystems are damaged. Consumers will wake up to the use of natural products and the government will also tighten the rules. “Life changing verdicts will be issued and very soon, natural products usage will no longer be a choice but a norm,”she says with conviction.
