Care to Air Design Challenge

A few years ago, a neighbor moved out of our apartment building and gave us her washer/dryer. Instead of doing our laundry in the building’s basement, we could now do it at home. But there was one catch: our building prohibits the use of dryers. To solve that problem, we decided to keep the washer, pass on the dryer and become air (aka line) dryers with the help of a couple folding metal racks.

It’s a little more work, but I enjoy it, much in the way I like composting or cooking.  It’s a welcome contrast from my digital existence and makes me feel a bit more grounded.  It’s also a household chore that my sons can participate in (with only a limited amount of grousing).

Last year, I read an article about  a non-profit called Project Laundry List that was fighting for people’s right to line dry their clothes.  Apparently, some towns ban line drying for aesthetic reasons.  Project Laundry List’s founder Alex Lee is an environmental activist who believes in the energy savings of line drying.  It makes a lot of sense, since line drying gets the job done in 24 hours using zero fossil fuels.

In talking to Alex about his efforts, I learned about the current “Care to Air” design challenge being sponsored by Levi’s and Myoocreate. The Care to Air contest challenges people to design “the world’s most innovative, covetable, and sustainable air-drying solution for clothing.” Levi’s is offering up a $10,000 prize for the best design, and they are doing this in conjunction with their new product care labels that instruct customers to cold water wash, air dry and donate the jeans to Goodwill when they’re done with them. UncommonGoods was invited to participate in the design challenge and help judge the winning entries next month.  Ultimately, we hope to be able to bring one of the designs to market.  If you’ve got an idea, please visit  Myoocreate to submit. Good luck!