Q&A with Lynda, Rick, and Jordan: Green Cleaners

Happy Friday, everyone! Thanks for the questions you submitted--we are so excited to hear from you, and we truly hope Lynda, Rick, and Jordan help you understand a little better why it is so valuable to care for your clothes in the right way.

Today’s reader question is about what it really means when a cleaner claims to be “green”.

Question: “Lately, I have really been trying to clean up my act when it comes to the environment, but I am wondering if there is a way to do this with my dry cleaner of choice? I am not really sure what the difference is between a “green” cleaner and a normal one. Am I losing anything by sending my clothing to an environmentally-friendly cleaner? Will my clothes get the same benefits? What am I gaining?” {Sarah, Vernon Hills, IL}

Answer:

Unless you’re a zealot for whom no price is too great to pay or sacrifice too much to ask, striking a balance between being a good environmental citizen and maintaining your personal standards for the quality and care in your life requires you to be an educated consumer.

Some choices are easy.  You have to go to San Francisco for your BFF’s wedding.  The smallest impact you could have on the environment is walking.  THAT is zealot territory.  The most self-indulgent choice is a private jet.  THAT is obscene.  For most responsible human beings who care about the world they live in, the reasonable choice is a seat on a non-stop commercial airline flight (an added bonus would be a full plane that achieved economy of scale!).

For other choices, like dry cleaning, the pros and cons are not so obvious because the knowledge required to make an intelligent decision is primarily known only by industry insiders.  You are to be commended for wanting to know the pluses and minuses attached to your choices, and we’re happy to share our inside, painstakingly researched information with you.

1. All cleaners are not created equal. 
   
1. There are green zealot cleaners for whom changes in texture, tensile strength, cleanliness or even size are acceptable sacrifices because their primary, and perhaps exclusive interest, is in being GREEN.  These are generally ONE process cleaners.  Think of them like a one-size-fits-all garment.  They NEVER fit everyone perfectly.  Similarly, a single green cleaning process is NEVER the perfect cleaning answer for EVERY garment brought in to them.  The result will almost always be a compromise.
2. There are cleaners who have NO environmental conscience. 
   
1. For their own reasons they choose not to invest in any eco-friendly technologies or practices beyond those required by state or local governments.  Most of these cleaners are solely dependent on processing 100% of your garments in a solvent the federal EPA has deemed to be a Hazardous Air Pollutant (HAP)
   

3. Then there are cleaners, like us, who have spent years researching and training in the latest environmentally sound technologies and principles, as well as staying abreast of the latest fashions, fabrics, construction techniques and trends. 
   
1. Cleaners who think beyond the cleaning process to determine what is good for the garment, and even take it many steps further by evaluating and monitoring their entire business for its impact on the world we live in.  We work toward achieving total environmental sustainability, and we adopt and invest in those eco-friendly and conservation opportunities accordingly.  We are dedicated to striking the balance between optimum environmental performance and superior garment care and superior client service.

And when these types of cleaners do it right, they receive certifications like being named a Certified Environmental Dry Cleaner (which we are), or one of our personal points of pride, being the first dry cleaner in Illinois to be named a Certified Green Cleaner. 

Wishing you and your loved ones good health and happiness always…Lynda, Rick and Jordan, Your Fabricare Friends

Thanks Lynda, Rick, and Jordan for your always informative answers and for stopping by to share with us!

And readers, don’t forget to submit any questions you have on Facebook or on Twitter @davisimperial, or you can email us at davisimperialblog@gmail.com.

Thanks for reading, and we’ll see you next week!