Aug. 9: International Linen & Uniform Service Day
Share this video with #ILUD to observe your local linen, uniform & facility services providers
It’s official! International Linen and Uniform Service Day is around the corner! On August 9, International Linen & Uniform Service Day celebrates the professionals across the globe that provide linen, uniform and facility services.
It was on this day in 1910 that “Thor,” the very first electric-powered washing machine, was patented by Alva J. Fisher, marking a turning point for commerce throughout the world.
Linen and uniform services provided by large commercial laundries have become an essential service that commerce needs to function worldwide. Running in the background, they’re an integral supply-chain partner to the healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing, food service, food processing, automotive and retail industries. Starting Aug. 9, this changes. It’s high time that we celebrate the countless millions of people in every continent who have dedicated themselves to providing clean linens, towels, uniforms and facility services to businesses each and every week.
HOW TO OBSERVE INTERNATIONAL LINEN AND UNIFORM SERVICE DAY
- On Aug. 9, shout out your local laundry businesses or service professionals on social media with #ILUD.
- Post photos with linen and uniform products provided by your local service provider or with their delivery team members.
- Give your patronage to a business that uses commercial linen and uniform services (restaurants, hotels, auto shops, medical centers, etc.).
- Start a conversation about how clean linens and uniforms make an impact in your own industry and in the world.
Restaurants rely on these services for chef uniforms, cooking towels, staff uniforms and aprons, as well as tablecloths to create the ambiance you savor, and the napkins you use to clean your mouth after a meal. Healthcare facilities depend on them to create a safe, comfortable environment with sheets, patient gowns, scrubs, lab coats, PPE and more. They provide work uniforms and business services to millions of businesses each day, from automotive shops, to food processors to the biomedical cleanroom facilities creating COVID-19 vaccines. And what kind of vacation would you have without the clean sheets, towels and robes you love? These services do all of this and more, delivered by route service representatives (RSRs) who serve each customer with passion and a smile. During the pandemic, the linen and uniform industry was officially deemed an essential service, as workers put it all on the line to provide reusable PPE and critical supplies to hospitals.
Join us this Aug. 9 in celebrating an industry that does so much every day of the year for all of us on International Linen and Uniform Service Day!
INTERNATIONAL LINEN AND UNIFORM SERVICE DAY HISTORY
International Linen and Uniform Service Day commemorates the day commercial laundering officially began with the patent of the first electric-powered washing machine “Thor,” on Aug. 9, 1910.
111 years later, this landmark day was conceptualized by Coral Undzis, social media director at Infinite Laundry, and the holiday was officially registered by Infinite Laundry, with the support of TRSA (the leading linen and uniform trade association), and countless industry leading companies. “This was the time to do it, as we celebrate the work of our industry with the world and acknowledge the ‘heroes-behind-the-heroes’ with their essential work throughout the COVID-19 pandemic,” Undzis said.
We hope that by bringing public awareness to the profession, its people, and the place that linen and uniform services have in our global societies, commerce will continue to support and value these services, and expand their use with additional hygienically clean, reusable textile solutions for the future.