International Wrinkled Shirt Day Date in the current year: December 20, 2024

International Wrinkled Shirt Day was launched in 2019 by several Argentinian civil society and non-governmental organizations: Red Solidaria, DondeReciclo.org and Mundo Invisible. They teamed up to raise awareness of the importance of being environmentally conscious and taking effort to save the planet from the consequences of our own actions.

But what do wrinkled shirts have to do with being environmentally conscious? The thing is, your clothes iron is one of the most energy-consuming household appliances in your home. The average iron uses 1000 Watts per hour when heated on high, which can rack up your electricity bill and increase your carbon footprint.

Some electric appliances won’t help you save energy if you turn them off; for example, if you turn off your fridge, it will just use more energy to cool down again once you turn it back on. Not using your iron, however, is totally an option for those who want to lower their electric bills and reduce their carbon footprint.

International Wrinkled Shirt Day was created to raise awareness of the damage that overconsumption of energy does to the environment and encourage people to reduce their reliance on electric household appliances. Nothing drastic will happen if you wear a wrinkled shirt for a day, but if we keep being careless about the environment, it will have dire consequences.

To show your support for International Wrinkled Shirt Day and make a statement, don’t iron your clothes on December 20. Maybe it won’t save that much energy, but it will be your first step in the right direction. If you don’t want to look too shabby, here are some tips that will help you make your clothes look less wrinkled.

• Use a good laundry detergent and fabric softener, and make sure to choose the right wash cycle for each type of clothes.
• When you take your shirt out of the washing machine/dryer, immediately hang it on a coat hanger that is not wire. It will allow you to prevent deep creases and wrinkles.
• To smooth out small wrinkles, lightly spray your shirt with water, then let it air dry. You can also hang it in the bathroom while you’re showering and let the steam do the job (just make sure the shirt doesn’t get too wet).

Of course, we understand that there are situations when you simply can’t do without an iron. Even so, there are ways to reduce energy consumption while ironing.

• Wash and dry your clothes the right way to reduce the number of wrinkles and creases that need to be ironed out.
• Hang your clothes immediately after washing them.
• Organize your clothes by ironing temperature before ironing them; start with those that require the lowest temperature and gradually increase the setting.
• Don’t use hard water in your iron and clean your iron regularly to make sure that the plate is clean and there is no limescale anywhere.
• Invest in a good iron because it will make the process less time-consuming and will help you save money in the long run.