We catch up with Frej Lewenhaupt, co-founder and CEO at Steamery to learn more about the story behind the brand, top tips on how to love your clothing for longer, and why we should care for our clothes! 

What's the mission behind Steamery, what inspired you to start the company?  

We started Steamery with a mission to change the way we treat our clothes. Today, we create smart, minimalistic, and modern clothing care products. We want to inspire people to take better care of their clothes and to make clothing care a pleasurable daily routine in order to make your clothes look great and last longer. The philosophy of clothing care isn’t something new. Two generations ago, everybody knew how to take care of their clothes, but since then the tradition has been forgotten.   

When we founded Steamery back in 2014 in Shanghai, my co-founders Petra and Martin and I wanted to bring back these lost traditions but with modern solutions. We started out with steamers and today, Steamery offers a full ecosystem of clothing care products that includes everything from steamers to fabric shavers, clothing brushes, and laundry products. 
 
We believe that we all need to slow down. Invest in clothes we really need, take good care of them, and hopefully, one day pass them along to a new owner. It’s an essential part of the slow fashion way.  

Steamery is on a mission to change the way we treat our clothes - why is this important?  

Today we see that the norm is to buy a garment, wash it way too often, and throw it away way too soon. We believe in changing that behavior. The way we treat our clothes today is simply not possible in the long run. 

Textile waste is one of the biggest problems when it comes to the fashion industry. In Europe, we use a piece of clothing 7-8 times on average before throwing it away. We want to inspire people to take care of the clothes they already own and to do so through some easy steps: wash less, wash right, and care more.  
 

Wash less 
Over-washing is one of the biggest problems when it comes to textile waste. We wash our clothes way too often, causing them to fade in color, shrink, and lose their shape. There are several ways to refresh your clothes between washes. We always recommend airing out your clothes outside after use. Airing is the most simple and natural way to refresh clothes. Hang your worn clothes outside to air overnight, and they will smell and feel fresh in the morning. Steaming is another great way to refresh clothes between washes. The hot steam removes wrinkles, bad odors, and bacteria, eliminating signs of the garments being worn. 

Wash right 
Not following the care label instructions is another reason why clothes get worn out quickly and end up in landfills. It's important to use the right laundry products and techniques when washing and drying to prevent unnecessary wear and tear. When washing your clothes, make sure to sort them carefully by color to prevent color bleeding, and choose a gentle washing cycle on the machine. By lowering the temperature, you will make your clothes last longer. 
 
At Steamery we offer laundry detergents that are effective from temperatures as low as 20°C. Different kinds of textiles require different kinds of laundry detergent. Steamery’s liquid laundry detergents are specially developed to clean and nourish all kinds of fabrics without losing their colors.  
 
Care more 
By doubling a garment's lifespan, you can reduce its environmental impact by 50%. Therefore, we want to inspire people to care for, repair, and reuse their favorite garments. Give new life to the clothes you already own. Repairing a broken hem or replacing a missing button is not hard. We’ve gathered our mending tutorials in one place so you can learn five easy hacks that can make your torn clothes feel wearable again. 
 
It’s natural for pilling to occur on well-loved clothes, and it can be easily managed with a fabric shaver. Spruce up your knits by using a fabric shaver to remove all pilling. Then finish off with steaming the garments and spritzing some scented fabric spray on them and your clothes will feel like new again. 
 
If you take proper care of your clothes they will last much longer and keep their value. When you feel that a garment isn’t sparking any joy for you anymore you can then pass it on to a new owner instead of throwing it away. 
 

If you had to pick a favourite item from Steamery right now, what would it be and why?  

My absolute favorite product in our range is our Cirrus 3 Iron Steamer. I use it every day! It’s a hybrid between a steamer and an iron and a very effective and smart tool. It makes it easy to create either a pressed or a more natural look. It has a unique Scandinavian design and is neat and lightweight which makes it a great companion to bring when traveling. When unpacking your suitcase, it helps you to quickly get your clothes wrinkle-free and when you have used your clothes for a day or two you can easily freshen them up with the hot steam and remove unwanted odors, and you can use the garment for one more day!  
 

Steamery is leading the way for modern clothing care. What's next for the brand? 

We have some exciting news that will come out very soon. It’s a whole new product that will add a lot to our product range in terms of knowledge and inspiration. We have created it together with a prestigious partner, and it will be launched by the end of May. We’re very excited to introduce this new product and we hope that it can inspire even more people to learn more about clothing care and introduce a clothing care routine into their day-to-day life. Stay tuned! 
 

– Frej Lewenhaupt, co-founder and CEO at Steamery