The FORUM WASHING is a dialogue platform that has already received several awards from UNESCO and the German Council for Sustainable Development. Initiated by IKW in 2001, the dialogue platform brings together experts from public authorities, federal ministries, research institutions, a trade union, the WPR and household appliance industry, universities, environmental organisations, universities and consumer and industry associations in Germany. One aim is to encourage more and more private individuals to wash textiles, wash dishes and clean surfaces sustainably at home. IKW is one of the players in FORUM WASCHEN and also acts as the coordination office.

At the invitation of the Federal President and the German Federal Environmental Foundation, FORUM WASCHEN was already able to present itself at the Week of the Environment in the garden of Bellevue Palace in Berlin in 2012 and has been invited again for 2024.

Sustainable (dish)washing action day on 10 May

FORUM WASCHEN is organising the ‘Sustainable (dish)washing’ day of action across Germany on 10 May 2024 . The day of action has been held annually around 10 May since 2004. Multipliers from the ranks of stakeholders - in particular from consumer, environmental and professional associations, educational institutions and IKW member companies - inform private individuals in their respective environments about sustainable washing and cleaning. A multiplier conference will be held at Fulda University of Applied Sciences on 14 and 15 March 2024 to train the multipliers. The current programme for the two-day conference includes a plenary session and workshops.

The patron of the 2023 Action Day was Christian Kühn, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV). During the FORUM WASH stakeholders' workshop on 7 September 2023 in Berlin, Mr Kühn pointed out in his speech that, from the BMUV's perspective, FORUM WASH makes key and important contributions that need to be supported. It is not a matter of course that a heterogeneous group like FORUM WASCHEN has been working together successfully for over 20 years.

The patron of the 2024 Day of Action is Petra Bentkämper, President of the German Rural Women's Association (Deutscher LandFrauenverband e. V.) In her greeting to the 2024 Day of Action, she writes, among other things ‘It is the responsibility of each and every one of us to help ensure that future generations also have sufficient clean water. I am happy to work with FORUM WASCHEN to protect this privilege and pass on the necessary knowledge.’

Petra Bentkämper, President of the Deutscher LandFrauenverband e. V.

Mrs Bentkämper's full greeting and an overview of the previous patrons can be found here: https://forum-waschen.de/akteure/aktionstag/.

Public relations

FORUM WASCHEN publishes five press releases a year and a monthly ‘Tip of the Month’, which are frequently referred to in print and online media in Germany. The reach of all articles published in newspapers and online portals in Germany on topics developed by FORUM WASCHEN totalled 399.8 million contacts in 2022 and 754.4 million contacts in 2023.

New website

The FORUM WASCHEN website was launched in its new form at the beginning of 2024.

_{Screenshot of the launch website forum-waschen.de}

The start website https://forum-waschen.de/ takes you to the two main portals: ‘Tips’ and ‘Stakeholders’. The ‘Tips’ portal provides consumers with important information on the sustainable use of detergents, care products and cleaning agents. The ‘Stakeholders’ portal provides information about the organisations and institutions in FORUM WASCHEN and the campaign day.