"A few months ago something new popped up in my neighborhood -- a dry cleaner that bills itself as organic. And what is it that these green ones do differently?" "The issue here, I discovered, is the use of the chemical solvent perchloroethylene, or "perc" ... -- the solvent used by at least 85% of dry cleaners.." "California has created an incentive fund for cleaners switching from perc to non-toxic cleaning methods." The low-down on "Wet" cleaning, CO2 cleaning, Silicone-based cleaning Is Organic Dry Cleaning Good for Anything?
All I know is that when we used to go to a regular dry cleaner, sometimes we'd get stuff back that smelled heavily of chemicals. Once we switched to an organic one, that's never happened. That alone is worth it for us.
Thanks for posting this with the link. There is one in my town that I just noticed. I would use a CO2 dry cleaner, so I am going to stop in and ask them what they use. If I get the same answer that I get from the lawn care techs when I ask them what they are using, I'll know it's just green-washing.
There's a storm drain in the alley on the block north of me. Whenever I used to drive over it I'd smell gas. As in natural gas. I actually called the gas company and met him out there because I was walking the dog and the smell was so strong I was sure it was a leak. The guy came out and inspected around the alley and the drain. Said he'd get back to me. And he did. Seems a dry cleaner was dumping his crap down the storm drain rather than disposing of it properly. I never caught the guy. But one of the neighborhood watch people did. Haven't smelled it since. If there are alternatives then the perc has to go. More expensive? Deal with it. I'm all for my tax dollars helping to subsidize the elimination of toxic waste in dry cleaning. I don't use a dry cleaner myself. If it has to be dry cleaned, i don't buy it. But if I did, I'd look for an "organic" one. And if I have to pay more, then I pay more.
