Oxwash Partners With EAV Solutions To Help People Do Laundry Sustainably

Oxwash is a laundry and dry cleaning startup that brands itself as “space age,” with the goal of disrupting the traditional laundry service. It is making progress on that goal through its new partnership with EAV Solutions. Through this partnership, EAV bikes will be added to Oxwash’s existing fleet of electric cargo bikes.

The EAV 2Cubed bike, a zero-emissions cargo bike with a capacity of 2.0m³, will enable Oxwash riders to deliver higher volumes of laundry. This partnership comes as demand for Oxwash in London is growing rapidly. Oxwash found that the agility, visibility, and enclosed cab of the EAV quadricycles create the perfect features for Oxwash as it expands its team of riders.

Oxwash also noted that it found that EAV’s cargo bikes, designed with Oxwash’s signature bright blue, have been shown by academic studies to be 85% more efficient than traditional diesel vans — especially for urban last-mile deliveries. Also, the new electric bikes don’t add to the continuous growth of traffic congestion. The bikes are easily charged by 100% renewable energy sources and produce no CO2 or NOx emissions.

Oxwash was founded in 2018 and has raised £1.75 million in 2020 to launch its software-enabled “Lagoons” in Cambridge and London. Lagoons are what the company called its first washing hubs, which were funded with a £300,000 pre-seed round.

CEO and Founder of EAV, Adam Barmby, shared his thoughts about the partnership between the two companies. “Oxwash and EAV have a strong synergy in our engineering ethos and vision to disrupt logistics and the circular economy. We’re excited to collaborate on the future of urban logistics and reducing waste in the laundry and dry-cleaning sector.”

Kyle Grant, CEO and Founder of Oxwash, spoke about using the power of science to take on the laundry industry. “We are harnessing the power of science to overhaul an outdated and highly polluting industry. Traditional methods can only go so far and have taken their toll on the planet. The zero-emissions EAV bikes are the cutting edge in sustainable local goods transport, and we are proud to have them as a partner on our journey to bring truly sustainable laundry to everyone.” Just recently, Kyle Grant was selected as Forbes Europe’s 30 under 30.

Grant also pointed out how important Oxwash’s customers are to the company and how the EAVs help serve them better. “Our customers are central to everything we do, and the cutting-edge EAVs will allow us to transport more than double our usual laundry capacity, for both bags and hanging items, per journey. This added efficiency means our customers benefit from more flexible delivery and pickup times. With more cities now introducing congestion charges and low-emission zones, our model ensures that we are future-proofing our delivery routes for our customers so that their service remains reliable and unparalleled.”

The heart and soul of Oxwash is sustainability, and its core focus is to target pollution. By partnering with EAV, it is also including roadside pollution as a type of pollution it is aiming to reduce. In a press release emailed to me, the following statement was shared by the company:

“The current industry is very polluting, using systems that shed harmful chemicals and synthetic non-biodegradable fibers into the local water system and oceans on a wider scale. The Oxwash process is nontoxic and saves up to 60% of the water consumption versus a typical domestic or commercial washing machine. On average we save 174kg/CO2 per tonne of laundry washed, 25 litres of water per wash, and prevent 100million plastic microfibers from going out into our oceans each day.”

Space Age Laundry Cleaning

Oxwash takes the water that was used in a previous wash, sterilizes it, and reuses it for the next cycle. This saves up to 60% of the water consumption compared to a typical commercial washing machine. After this, Oxwash uses a microfiber filtration system to filter the reclaimed water and captures over 95% of all the fibers that have been shed during washing. This prevents plastic pollution of the waterways and drinking water.

In order to disinfect and sanitize the water, Oxwash uses ozone that is generated using a blend of electricity and oxygen from the air we breathe. Adding in automation, Oxwash is able to dose the right amount of biodegradable detergent and prevent surplus chemical usage. Chemical disinfects, the website notes, increase the hygiene of the wash cycles while also preventing the colors from running. Oxwash is in the process of expanding its services from the UK to cities in the US and throughout Europe.

All images courtesy Oxwash