A UK laundry company, started in Oxford, that washes at low temperatures with recycled water and microfibre filters and delivers by bike or electric vehicle in Oxford, Cambridge and London.
Oxwash is a laundry and dry-cleaning service built around cutting the damage that washing does to the planet. Customers order online and the company collects and returns items by cargo bike or electric vehicle. It washes at no more than 20 degrees Celsius with biodegradable detergent, reclaims and reuses water, and fits microfibre filters that catch over 95% of the tiny plastic fibres that clothes shed in the wash. Its machines spray water rather than spinning clothes hard, and it uses a wet-cleaning method instead of harsh dry-cleaning chemicals. Its customers include individuals as well as businesses in fashion, hospitality, catering, laboratories and education.
Dr Kyle Grant founded Oxwash while studying for a doctorate in synthetic biology at Oxford, after earlier work at NASA on systems for astronauts. The idea began in a college laundry room, where he queued to wash his rugby kit. His co-founder is Tom de Wilton, an Oxford engineer. The company describes its aim as "decarbonising the unsustainable and toxic laundry industry", and Dr Grant has said "The laundry industry is broken". An Oxford University profile says its goal is to become the world's first net zero laundry business by 2030. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it also did disinfection work for the NHS and laundered garments for the Oxford vaccine trial.
Oxwash started in Oxford in summer 2019. It calls its processing sites "lagoons" and opened its second, at Ronald Rolph Court in Cambridge, in August 2020. London followed, and the company chose these cities partly because they are good for cycling deliveries. Check the company website for the current list of areas it serves. We did not find a headcount.
The company describes itself as purpose-driven and quick to test and learn. In a 2021 interview a board member from the consumer goods company Reckitt, Fabrice Beaulieu, said that it did not impose its own ways of working on Oxwash and that the shared goal is to help consumers "wash more and waste less". The founder credits Oxford's entrepreneurial programmes, including the Saïd Business School and the Oxford Foundry, with shaping the business, and its "Donate a Wash" campaign gave free washes to key workers and older people during lockdown. These are the company's and partners' own words.
A laundry business built on technology and delivery employs many types of people: operations and plant staff who run the machines and hygiene processes, cyclists and drivers for collections and deliveries, engineers and tech staff who build the ordering and routing systems, and growth, customer service and partnerships teams. Its 2021 sustainability report, with figures for water and detergent savings, shows it measures its impact. If you care about the environment and like practical, local services, it is a clear example. Check its website for current openings.
Website: www.oxwash.com
PURPOSE helps school and university students explore 62 sectors and over 1,000 entry-level careers in the UK, then connects them directly with employers.
Explore PURPOSE