🍀 A soap opera

^ lol just kidding; NONE OF US have time for laundry right now

I’ve been thinking a lot about laundry recently. Am I just romanticizing having time to do chores? Am I living that Dr. Cristina Yang S1 Grey’s Anatomy “I don’t do laundry; I buy new underwear” life?? Let’s move on. 

Specifically, I’ve been thinking about the luxury laundry market. DOUBLE-specific, I’m thinking about the OG luxury laundry detergent: The Laundress. 

Before Warby Parker, before “clean” products took off, and before “greenwashing,” The Laundress was born in New York City. I don’t know what you were doing in 2004 (I was 10) but it definitely wasn’t founding a DTC brand and then selling it for $100M.

But, I’m getting ahead of myself. 

Let’s dive into RISE AND FALL of The Laundress, a brand that broke open a whole new category, mastered early ecom, and built a global lifestyle brand…only to be fighting for its LIFE in 2024. 

There’s drama. Suds. Content Marketing. Off we go. 

In 2004, Gwen Whiting and Lindsey Boyd started The Laundress as a first-of-its-kind luxury cleaning brand.

They were college friends at Cornell (FANCY!), where they studied Textile & Fiber Science (SMART!), literally IN a LAB, learning the real nuts and bolts of how textiles worked—while also studying retail, history, and design.

After school, Boyd ended up in sales & marketing at Chanel. Whiting ended up at Ralph Lauren. 

Natch, they accumulated a TON of nice clothes (truly the peak days of sample sales, sigh)…but they were constantly BEDEVILED by taking care of them. (Yep, I said bedeviled. Come at me).

(I mean, would YOU throw a Brunello sweater into a spin cycle with a cup of weird blue Tide??)

They didn’t like anything on the market for hand-washing. As for dry cleaning….on top of the $$$, it degrades fabric over time. PLUS, most cleaners use chemicals that are terrible for the environment AND you! And, the experience sucks. Just ask my favorite guy on Twitter (well, next to Daniel):

THUS, the idea behind The Laundress, like all great ideas, combined ~personal expertise~ with personal annoyance. To me, that smells like opportunity (and fresh linen, weird). 

TWO YEARS of product development with chemists led to eco-friendly detergents safe for home use, even on “dry clean only” stuff. Their first line was 13 products, all in a single, matching scent. They wanted to create something totally new to the market: a full-on, luxury laundering EXPERIENCE. 💠

It was an uphill battle. People thought asking $20 for a bottle of detergent was NUTS. Investors laughed them out of the room. But DAMNIT, they had the internet.

In a previous side hustle, Boyd made and sold a line of bedazzled tee shirts to Saks (LOL remember, this was the early 2000s). She taught herself how to build websites, manage inventory…basically, the basics of ecommerce. So, they did the same for The Laundress.

^ Just look at this 2006-ass website!!! (TY, Wayback Machine)

Even given the janky land of mid-2000s web design, it’s honestly impressive—look at the “things we love,” “laundry tips,” “recipes.” This is evolved content marketing, centered around brand positioning and product education.

Lindsay Boyd was literally on YouTube, washing her own Chanel coat. TO ME, THIS IS FOUNDER MODE

In their videos and articles, they didn’t hawk detergent—they taught people how to care for clothes, and why it mattered. (And they never slowed down. Just look at how robust their knowledge library  is now!!)

^ Co-Founder Lindsey Boyd, washing her Chanel wool coat on YouTube, 13 years ago. Those brands grow up so fast! *sniff* 

This focus on education MATTERED. It established their authority, built trust, and ACTUALLY HELPED people. First rule of content marketing? Provide value.

^ A 2019 campaign with Iris Apfel

The SEO game was so strong, that some users didn’t even realize they sold products—they came for the sweet sweet knowledge.

The other key piece IMO? They sold a LIFESTYLE. A dream. Vibes. 

C’mere, I’ll show you what I mean:

^ another mid-2000s stunner, thanks to the Wayback Machine

Just LOOK at how they position their products in dozens of mood boards, as COLLECTIONS (my love language). This array paints a picture of a Certain Type of person, someone with good taste, who has heirlooms and cares for them thoughtfully.

Even more importantly, look at the positioning: they nestle The Laundress alongside brands like Manolo Blahnik, Chanel…..It’s the same thing that worked for GOOP, back when it was just Gwyneth and her newsletter: maybe you wouldn’t pick up that $300 thimble of volcanic salt, but you might splurge on that $40 hand cream. (I love you Gwyneth).

This positioning makes regular chores into a romantic, aspirational experience. An act of self-care, even. These are the kinds of branding principles you can still swear by today. 

Still, it took YEARS (and a lot of credit cards) to turn a profit. Getting into storefronts was a challenge, too, even with their elite department store connections. Because luxury laundry wasn’t a thing yet. So instead, they went after fine cashmere and lingerie departments, to nab customers when they were investing in something they’d want to last.

Eventually, they opened their own storefronts—hundreds of them, all over the world. They looked like fancy macaron shops or high-end parfumeries. (Because DUH, their scent game was better than ever.)

In 2014, they partnered with Le Labo. Later, there was a collaboration with FRAME Denim. And SoulCycle. And KITH. And a cashmere wash for BRUNELLO CUCINELLI (!!!!)

These collaborations emphasized the same story: this shit is not only the best damn soap money can buy, it might make you a happier, cleaner, richer, better person. 

By the time they were purchased by Unilever in 2019, they had 30% YoY growth and $24 million annual sales. They had fears about losing control after 15 years, but….the $100M price tag probably helped.

In 2020 they exploded again, when lockdown turned chores into a chance to build comforting, indulgent new rituals. Sales were up. Their new owners seemed to have great timing.

Little did they know, disaster was on the horizon. The kind of disaster that can vaporize twenty years of careful brand-building, investment, and trust. 

In 2022, The Laundress announced that they’d found seriously dangerous bacteria in their supply chain, and told people to immediately stop using every. single. product. YIKES.

There was a media frenzy. An ONGOING class action lawsuit. A recall. A nightmare. 

Now, with the reigning king of the market down for the count…competitors are storming the field.

Tons of brands are jostling to become the next ruler of luxury laundry. Dedcool x OUAI, Blueland, Dirty Labs, L’Avant, Brooklinen, even frickin Dr. Barbara Sturm are in the running. (Okay but seriously, tell me your favorite laundry detergent??)

The Laundress isn’t even the most expensive anymore—even if they are the undisputed first to market. (And to some people, still the best.) 

Whiting and Boyd moved on years ago, but the brand has re-launched with a full supply chain audit, a new manufacturer, and inspection schedules above all legal requirements. 

Can The Laundress get this stain out??? IDEK. 

But, 2 things are for sure: they basically created a billion-dollar market, built a playbook for ecommerce, and gave us a sparkling case study in how to run an ecom content WORLD—with a playbook as true now as it was 20 years ago.