We build things to last, and then most of them are destroyed by a machine in a utility room. Nothing we do at the factory matters as much as what happens in your house every week, so here is what actually makes the difference.
Wash cold, and wash less
Hot water is what shrinks cotton and fades dye. Thirty degrees handles ordinary wear perfectly well. And unless something is actually dirty or smells, it probably does not need washing yet. A hoodie worn over a tee can go weeks. Airing it overnight does most of the work.
Turn it inside out
Abrasion in the drum is what causes pilling, and it happens on whichever surface faces out. Turn a garment inside out and the pilling happens on the inside where nobody sees it. This is the single cheapest habit on this list.
Skip the tumble dryer
The lint you empty out of a dryer is your clothes. That is not a metaphor, it is literally fibre that has been beaten off the fabric. Line drying costs you a few hours of patience and adds years to a garment. If you must use a dryer, pull things out slightly damp and hang them to finish.
Use less detergent than the bottle says
The dose on the cap is generous, because the people printing it sell detergent. Excess does not rinse out, it builds up in the fibres, and that residue is what makes older cotton feel stiff and grey. Half a dose for a normal load is usually plenty. Skip fabric softener entirely on anything with elastane, it coats the fibres and kills the stretch recovery.
None of this is difficult. Cold, inside out, line dry, less detergent. Do those four and a good tee lasts five years instead of one.
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