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In Brooklyn USA, sisters Corinna and Theresa

Williams took up the challenge to make their local

laundromat a cool and engaged destination. A place

where you can look after your laundry and look

after the planet by using responsible products.

The laundromat sports the concept name Celsious

(Celsius and conscious?) and its pastel walls make

it very easy to post about on Instagram. Its low-

energy machines promise flawless washing and the

detergents available there are similar to cosmetics.

An (organic) coffee shop area with magazines and a

pop-up store promoting products by young brands

round out the offer. And every Friday night, a DJ

customer comes to play a two-hour set. Soooo cool.

To successfully embed new, more responsible

behaviours everything starts with the creation of

a community driven by shared values. Inside this

community, members identifying with other members

seems completely natural. This is what the Williams

sisters understood perfectly. Here, taking care of your

laundry and using eco-friendly detergent are the signs

you belong. And their laundromat is a venue for artistic

performances and events. In this case, the Gen Z and

Millennial obsession with image is managed on social

media, guaranteeing the laundromat’s profile. Already a

feature in series and used in stage design, laundromats

have everything they need to become a rallying point,

a place new generations can share. Sharing machines,

of course, but also lifestyles, aesthetics, values and

perhaps even a way of renewing the life of their clothes.