Lately, we could all do with learning new ways to take care of our clothing. As well as striving to save the planet by reducing our fast fashion consumption, we’re also unable to indulge in as many luxury fashion trends as we’d quite like (we see you, cost of living crisis).
Now, this isn’t saying we never succumb to the appeal of fast fashion – we all know the convenience of buying into low-cost labels, and let’s be honest, it’s a little harder to fill your wardrobe with all high-end. That’s why, here at BrandAlley, we’ve started searching for ways to live a little more sustainably when it comes to what we wear. We’ve partnered with Scandinavian clothing-care brand Steamery to help you take care of the clothes you currently own – whether that be affordable fashion or high end – so that hopefully you’ll love them for a bit longer.
To help introduce you to the brand, we thought who better to speak to than Steamery’s founder, Frej Lewenhaupt. We had a great conversation with Frej to discuss Steamery’s mission, their stylish & innovative clothing-care range, and his personal top tips for keeping clothing looking fresh. You can read it below!
Hi, Frej! Could you tell us a little bit about your role at Steamery? What does your day-to-day look like?
Hey! My name is Frej Lewenhaupt, I’m the co-founder and CEO at Steamery. I have a background as a textile engineer and have always been interested in textile care and clothing materials. Prior to Steamery, I was working in Shanghai with textile production within the fashion industry. I founded Steamery in 2014 along with my co-founders Martin Lingner and Petra Ringström Oxhamre. We started out with steamers and today, Steamery is offering a full eco-system of clothing care products designed to make your clothes last longer. Our product range includes everything from steamers to fabric shavers, clothing brushes and laundry products.
When creating Steamery, what was your mission? And what are the steps you’ve taken over the years to accomplish it?
We started Steamery with a mission to change the way we treat our clothes. Today, we create smart, minimalistic, and modern clothing care products. We want to inspire people to take better care of their clothes and to make clothing care a pleasurable daily routine in order to make your clothes look great and last longer. The philosophy of clothing care isn’t something new. Two generations ago everybody knew how to take care of their clothes, but since then the tradition has been forgotten. We wanted to bring it back, but with a modern solution. That’s why we started Steamery.
Could you tell us a little bit about the first ever Steamery product? And how you have improved/adapted it over the years?
Our Steamery journey started with the steamer. When we all lived in Shanghai, we discovered the steamer and the many benefits of not only using a steamer in stores or for showrooms but also using a steamer at home. In Scandinavia by that time, it was more common to use an iron and steamers were not that well-known. We wanted to change that and introduce the steamer on the Scandinavian market and also inspire people to take better care of their clothes to make them last longer.
Since then, we have introduced a whole eco-system of products to our range and we’re continuously working on extending the range with new innovative clothing care products.
How has your product portfolio evolved and expanded based on the needs of your customers?
We’re always listening to our customers need and requirements when it comes to our products. From 2014 until now we have been evolving our steamers to meet the different needs from our customers. We now have six different steamers from handheld steamers to a home steamer and a professional steamer, to fulfil all kinds of different needs from home use, to travel-friendly steamers and steamers for hotels, stores and showrooms. We’re constantly working on creating new innovative clothing care products to add to our range.
This year we’re also launching a whole new product that will add a lot to our range of product in terms of knowledge and inspiration. We’re very excited to introduce this new product and we hope that it can inspire even more people to learn more about clothing care and introduce a clothing care routine into their day to day life.
Your products look very unique in comparison to other household steamers & fabric shavers. How were you inspired to create their unique, sleek design?
When we started Steamery we thought the design aspect of clothing care products were missing in the market. We wanted to create accessible products that you like to have as a part of your interior in your home and not something you want to hiding away. We always aim for our products to be characterized by sophisticated design and high performance, with a ideal balance between functionality and aesthetic.
What are some of your expert tips for taking care of your clothing in an effort to keep quality pieces for longer and support sustainability in this way?
Wash less. The most common reason why clothes lose their shape or quality is because we wash them too often, or the wrong way. Steaming is a great alternative to washing; the hot steam not only leaves your clothes smooth, fresh and wrinkle-free but it also kills bacteria and reduces odors. This will keep your garments fresh in between washes. We would also recommend airing your clothes outside overnight to remove odors and to make your garments feel fresh and crisp again. You could use a fabric spray to freshen up your clothes and if you get a stain on a garment, simply use a stain remover, and target the stain directly instead of washing the whole garment. The gentlest way to dry your clothes is to air-dry. Don’t tumble dry anything except bed linen and towels.
Wash right. Not following the care label instructions is one of the biggest reasons why clothes get worn out quickly and end up in landfills. Some other reasons may be that you bought a garment that you didn’t really need, or that you got tired of the clothes you have. My best advice here is to invest in garments of good quality, taking your time to consider a new purchase and not buying things on an impulse. When washing your clothes, it’s important to use the right laundry products and techniques to prevent unnecessary wear and tear. Make sure to sort them carefully by colour to prevent colour bleeding and choose a gentle washing cycle on the machine. By lowering the temperature, you will make your clothes last longer. At Steamery, we offer laundry detergents that are effective even from 20°C.
Care more. If your garments lose a button or get a broken hem, make sure to repair them. Usually fixing a hole or mending a hem isn’t that difficult. It’s natural for pilling to occur on well-loved clothes, and it can be easily managed with a fabric shaver. Spruce up your knits and clothes by using a fabric shaver to remove all pilling.
If you take proper care of your clothes – steaming between washes, mending when broken and washing them the right way they will last much longer and keep their value, and one day you can pass them on to a new owner.
We have an extensive cashmere range on site – do you have any tips on how to keep cashmere looking its best?
If you have been wearing your cashmere sweater a couple of times and you want to freshen it up, my best advice is to hang it outside for a while to remove unwanted odours. Steaming is also a gentle way to quickly freshen up your cashmere clothes without having to wash them. The hot steam kills the bacteria, removes shallow dirt, and helps the sweater to regain its natural form. Finish off with a spritz of fabric spray and your sweater will be fresh and ready to be used again!
If you need to wash your cashmere garments, make sure to choose a gentle washing cycle for delicate materials and to also use a suitable laundry detergent. Our Delicate Laundry Detergent contains lanolin oil that works like a conditioner for cashmere wool and makes it soft and fluffy.
What fabrics would we find in your spring-summer wardrobe?
When it comes to materials to wear on a hot summer day, both linen and hemp feel cool to the touch since these fibres have the ability to breathe and hold liquids without feeling damp. Silk and lyocell transport moisture well and will feel cool and airy instead of sticking to your body like synthetic materials tend to do. As a general rule, we recommend you stay away from synthetic fabrics like polyester, acrylic, and nylon in hot and humid weather conditions since these materials tend to trap moisture and odours. These synthetic materials are not very breathable and will trap heat and make you feel warm.
What must-have pieces would we find in your laundry room?
In our laundry room you will definitely find our Steamery laundry detergents. They are all produced in Denmark and have a lot of smart features for making your laundry experience very pleasant and making your clothes last much longer. We have an Active Detergent especially developed for active clothes and functional wear and the unique formula traps and absorbs odour molecules and helps increase the sweat transportation. It’s also ideal for washing other odour-prone items like swimwear, towels, and bedding. Using natural ingredients, it targets dirt, stains, and bacteria at temperatures as low as 30°C. Washing at lower temperatures prolongs the lifespan of your clothes and saves water and energy.
At BrandAlley, we’re always looking for ways to live more sustainably. Do you have any tips for us?
One of the biggest problems when it comes to the fashion industry today is textile waste. On average in Europe, we only use a piece of clothing 7–8 times before throwing it away. Obviously, we can’t continue like this. At Steamery, we want to be a part of the solution to this problem. By doubling a garment’s lifespan, you reduce its greenhouse gas emission footprint by 50%. Therefore, we want to inspire people to care for, repair, and reuse their favourite garments repeatedly.
Our best advice to prolong any garment’s lifetime is to do as little laundry as possible. Most clothes never get worn out – they get washed out. Our philosophy is quite simple; wash less, wash right, and care more. Steam in between washes to freshen up the garments and get wrinkle-free clothes to wear. If you get a stain, use a stain remover instead of washing the garment straight away. Furthermore, when you need to wash, make sure to use a detergent intended for the specific material and colour. Wash at low temperatures and replace fabric softeners with Tumble Dryer Balls. To care more is all about storing, repairing, and for example, de-bobbling your knits instead of throwing them out. Cherish and take care of the clothes in your existing wardrobe.
You can shop Steamery here.
Interview by Hannah Wright
