NEW YORK: Procter & Gamble, the FMCG giant, believes that changing consumer preferences mean there is now an opportunity to "hack" the laundry category.

Clark Reinhard, the company's director/new business creation, discussed its development of Swash – machines that allowing users to "refresh" clothes rather than wash them – at Internet Week New York 2015.

"Really, Swash is about: how do you hack laundry?" he said. (For more, including early results, read Warc's exclusive report: P&G "hacks" the laundry category with Swash.)

The need to think about this process in new ways has resulted, according to Reinhard, from a profound shift in popular attitudes.

More specifically, he reported that the "single biggest tension" in fabric care has moved away from the quality of the product to the utility it provides. "For years and years, it was cleaning and removing stains," he said.

"Today, the number one consumer unmet need in this category is: 'I want to spend less time doing it, so I have time for more important things.' That's what consumers are frustrated with.

"They're frustrated with: 'I lose half my Saturday, or I'm losing a few hours a day, or I'm chained to my house, because I've got to get my clothes ready to wear.' So we had that insight, and said: 'We want to solve that.'"

In addressing the problem, Procter & Gamble partnered with Whirlpool, the world's biggest appliances manufacturer, to create Swash.

The main function of this gadget is helping remove wrinkles and odours, as well as restoring shape, to items of apparel in as few as ten minutes.

Such a product holds a particular appeal for a new generation of consumers who are happy to wear a garment more than once.

"Today, 19 out of 20 of you would probably admit that. It's totally socially acceptable to say, 'You know what? This shirt I wore today: it really didn't get that dirty. As long as it didn't get any stains on it, I can wear it again,'" said Reinhard.

"In fact, there are 40 billion re-wear occasions a year."

Data sourced from Warc