Sustainable strategies for clothing care: a review of factors influencing environmental sustainability

Clothing care processes, including washing, drying, and ironing, mainly pose environmental impacts occurring during the clothing use phase. Existing studies have mainly focused on energy and water consumption while giving limited attention to the role of fabric damage in shaping environmental sustainability. This review adopts a fabric-centric perspective, identifying accumulated fabric damage as a critical factor exacerbating the associated environmental impacts. By reviewing recent studies on the major sources of environmental impact, key influencing factors, and fabric damage mechanisms, this review clarifies how repetitive care practices amplify environmental burdens. Targeted and coordinated improvement strategies are proposed across material design, care process optimization, consumer behavioral and policy interventions, and emerging technologies. This review establishes an integrated framework that links clothing care processes, fabric durability, and environmental impacts, offering conceptual guidance for developing sustainable clothing care systems that extend clothing life while reducing cumulative environmental burdens and outlining future development prospects.