Clothes-washer rule hangs consumers out to dry - Brief Article

Consumer Alert was among those giving the Department of Energy (DOE) negative feedback on proposed clothes washer rules that promise to drive up the cost of washing machines for every consumer. The regulations will force many standard top-loading washing machines out of the marketplace and replace them with more expensive front-loading models.

In comments submitted to DOE on December 4, CA stressed the right of consumers to make their own choices regarding how to wash clothes and conserve energy. DOE admits that under the standards set for 2007, the price of clothes washers will rise by about $240 (more than 50 percent). The Department tries to justify the increased costs by claiming the "average" consumer will save money over time in the form of cheaper energy bills. But these numbers are based on questionable estimates (352 loads of laundry a year!) and do not take into account the unique situations of individual consumers and even dismisses the effects on certain classes of consumers.

For instance, single people and the elderly, who don't have as many clothes to wash as larger households stand to lose under the new rules. As do poorer consumers who may not be able to afford the higher up-front costs associated with the new washers.

CA Policy Analyst James Plummer carried Consumer Alert's message to the airwaves, appearing on Fox News Channel's "Fox Report" November 2 to warn consumers about the new rules. "Bureaucrats in Washington are trying to micro-manage the lives of American citizens," Plummer told Fox News.

"They've gotten into our wallets," he continued. "Now they're into our bathrooms with low-flow toilets. And now they're telling us how to wash our clothes."

Arguing the other side in the Fox piece was not an Energy bureaucrat, but a representative of the washing machine industry. Leading clothes washer manufacturers support the new regulations, as they see in the mandates a chance to standardize international operations (front-loaders are de rigeur under EU regs) and increase profits and market share by squeezing out smaller manufacturers who won't be able to stay in business under the new rules.

In a companion piece on the Fox News website, viewers were able to vote on an awkwardly-worded and misleading question: "What matters to you the most: Clean clothes or a clean environment?" (There is, of course, no real evidence that the new machines will mean a cleaner environment.) Clean clothes won out seven to one.

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