A French government agency has been slammed after telling people how often to wash their clothes.
The Ecological Transition Agency urged the French public to change underwear every day but wear a T-shirt for up to five days and jeans for 30 before washing them.
It added that sports and workout clothes should be worn three times and bras seven times before washing. Wool jumpers only need a wash after 15 days’ wear and bedsheets and pyjamas after a week.
Known as Ademe, the agency claimed excessive use of washing machines wastes water and electricity, saying: “Too-frequent laundry increases water pollution and wears out our clothes more quickly.”
But the advice has led to ridicule from right-wing politicians and commentators, who have said it is indicative of France’s vast bureaucracy and the nanny state.
Pascal Praud, a popular right-wing broadcaster and columnist, said: “We have a thousand people paid by our taxes to work out how many times you must wear your underclothes before washing them.”
Maxime Guay, a student in Nice, wrote on X: “While the USA is off to conquer Mars, France is out to conquer clothes-washing.”
Some members of the public told reporters they kept their clothes much cleaner than the government’s advice, while others said they were more economical with detergent. In particular, many said they rarely wash jeans.
Gérard Larcher, the conservative speaker of the senate, and Valérie Pécresse, the conservative head of the Paris regional council, have been campaigning for Ademe’s abolition as a waste of money.
Frédéric Falcon, an MP with the populist National Rally, attacked head of Ademe Sylvain Waserman for the lecture on laundry.
He tweeted: “Ten thousand euros a month [salary] and more than 1,000 staff to produce such nonsense, financed with our taxes.
“The agency must be abolished urgently.”
Waserman defended the body, saying more than 90% of Ademe’s budget is spent on environmental initiatives by local authorities, while only a tiny fraction goes to its operating costs.
