We all like to stay clean while on vacation, but doing laundry while traveling can be a difficult prospect. The levels of convenience and environmental impact are primarily determined by the type of trip we're on.
The trend is that the more luxurious our vacation, the less green the laundry process. When staying in a hotel which offers laundry services, most of us just dump the clothes in the bag provided and tick the 'wash' box with little thought to the impact on our environment. An easy way to green those clothes is to write special instructions on the request card. Start by washing everything in cold water. Your clothes will still get plenty clean, and you avoid the carbon emissions created by heating the water.
Want your clothes soft and static free? Skip the dryer sheet or fabric softener and opt for white vinegar instead. This common household (and hotel-hold) product is an excellent substitute. Half a cup per full load gives you the same results as with marketed products. Use it the same way you use fabric softener, pouring it in the same dispenser in your washing machine. It doesn't contain any harmful chemicals or generate the waste of dryer sheets. As an added bonus, the lack of chemicals makes vinegar a great alternative for baby clothes and people with sensitive skin.
Unless you're dead-set on the fluffiness the dryer provides, ask that your clothes be line dried. Skipping the dryer saves tons of carbon emissions (literally!). I've met many people who started line drying while traveling. They liked the results so much more than the dryer they became permanent converts. Line drying keeps your clothes from shrinking or losing their shape, and clothes hold their color much longer when not exposed to the excessive heat of a dryer.
And finally, pay attention to those little cards in your hotel bathroom. If you want your towels washed, leave them on the floor. If you will reuse them, hang them back up. Honestly, does anyone ever wash their bath towels everyday? If you can go a week at home with the same towel, you can go a week while on vacation. Or at least three days. Cutting down on the number of towels washed per day helps the environment by reducing carbon emissions and conserving water. It also saves hotels money, so most hotels are now following this practice. If you don't see one of those little "Save the Earth" cards in your bathroom, call the front desk and ask about their policy. Odds are they'll be happy to leave your towels alone.
If you're on a tighter budget or outdoor adventure, you'll probably wind up washing your clothes by hand and line drying by default. But choosing which detergent you use can make a difference. Bar soap, powder soap, liquid soap- the form doesn't matter. Just make sure you pick a brand that's phosphorous free. Many products on the market today clean just as well as the chemical-laden variety, unlike in the past when swilling your clothes in eco-friendly wash left them dingy and gray. And for those stubborn, tough to remove spots, I recommend a nail brush. This handy little tool will scrub out almost any stain with a minimum of elbow grease.

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