According to American Laundry News, in the field of healthcare textiles, there are a few primary factors that will affect how the industry changes in upcoming years. Some of these factors include: rising environmental concerns, changes to national healthcare, and energy. Here is a brief analysis of how these factors could affect the healthcare laundry industry in the future.

Rising Environmental Concerns

With increased concern about the effects of pollution, global warming, and climate change, the "green" trend continues to gain momentum. More and more companies across all major industries are now striving to reduce their carbon footprint. It is projected that awareness of how business practices affect our environment will continue to grow in the next 20 years. Environmental concerns will likely reach the point that all professional laundry companies will need to treat their wastewater and reuse it.

Changes to National Healthcare

By the year 2033, it is very possible that the U.S. healthcare laundry market will resemble the current Canadian laundry market. The majority of U.S. healthcare could be government subsidized through a single provider network. If the government is the primary source of all revenue, it will be actively involved in seeking to control healthcare and related costs at all levels.

Healthcare administrators tend to view medical linen service as an unavoidable expense and continually search for ways to reduce those costs. This typically involves outsourcing, relying on contract management businesses, and limiting the number of items in the linen inventory. In the future, the government will likely look at establishing a network of healthcare laundries to provide standard service to all medical facilities.

Energy

The rise in environmental concerns will drive new energy legislation. To effectively reduce pollution caused by transportation vehicles, the government will continue to allow oil prices to rise. The increases in gasoline and diesel prices will cause consumers and companies alike to reduce their usage. Limiting fuel costs will mean that laundry locations must be carefully planned in relation to the geographic area that they are serving. Healthcare facilities will likely be assigned to the nearest medical laundry service in their area, eliminating competition.