Linen loss: where textiles disappear and how to measure it

The quick answer

Linen loss is the share of textiles that leave the cycle without being retired on purpose: pieces that are delivered and never come back, that go missing inside the laundry, or that are thrown away without anyone recording it. You measure it by comparing what was sent out with what came back, per customer and per item type, over a fixed period. Without item-level counts that comparison rests on estimates and an annual stocktake. With RFID at intake and dispatch it comes from reads.

The figure itself is only the start. What reduces losses is knowing where they happen: at which step, with which customer, for which item type. With RFID, laundries can reach up to 70% less fabric loss, measured as the share of garments lost across the whole cycle.

Where textiles disappear

Losses rarely have one cause. They build up at the points where textiles change hands and nobody counts.

The customer site is usually the largest source, but it is also the one the laundry sees least. That is why returns are read where they are handed back: a fixed drop box at the customer or a movable cabinet on the delivery truck.

How to measure linen loss

The basic measure is the loss rate per customer and item type: pieces delivered minus pieces returned, minus pieces still in circulation at the customer, over a period, as a share of the pieces delivered. Define the period, the item types and what counts as returned before you start, and keep the definition the same from month to month.

Without RFID, weight-based counts hide the differences between item types and customers, and an annual stocktake only shows the total at the end of the year. With reads at intake, drying, folding and dispatch, every item has a last-seen place, so you see not only how much is lost, but where.

Measure a baseline before you change anything. Without it, nobody can say later what a new routine or a new system has changed. Our guide on laundry KPIs has definitions for loss rate and the figures around it.

What reduces linen loss

The measures that work follow from where the losses happen.

At the customer site

Balances per customer turn loss discussions into documented figures. When a customer sees what was delivered and what came back, item type by item type, the conversation is about facts, and it builds the trust both sides need.

On the route and at the dock

A tunnel or portal at intake and dispatch counts every cart without unpacking it, and books it to the right customer. A tunnel is cheaper and faster, a portal costs more but encloses the load and reads more accurately. Either way, swapped or misdelivered carts show up at the dock, not at invoicing.

Inside the laundry

With the three key stations, intake, drying and folding, every item is seen several times per cycle. A piece read at intake but not at folding is flagged, and the check shows whether it is missing, its tag is defective, or it was missed because tags lay too close together. Re-tagging happens at the quality check station right after folding.

Sometimes without technology

Some losses come from the routine itself: an unclear handover, a step where nobody counts. Then a changed routine is the cheaper fix, and we say so. Our article When RFID Isn't the Right Answer describes those cases.

Where to start

• Pick two or three customers and the item types where you suspect the largest losses.
• Measure a baseline over a fixed period, with a written definition of the loss rate.
• Find the step where nobody counts today, and count there first.
• Put read points where loads change hands: intake, dispatch and the customer site.
• Review the figures per customer and item type every month, and act on the largest gap.

Our page on RFID linen tracking shows how balances per customer work for flat linen and towels. To look at your own losses with us, use our enquiry form.