ChicagoReGen is a great site where real Chicagoans share ideas and information about what they are doing to weave more sustainability practices into their life. All of the great resources on the site revolve around a single question: “What would it take to make the City of Chicago sustainable by 2025 with a high standard of living?”
We’re big fans of the site, and were thrilled and honored to read this wonderful post!
I try not to buy clothes that require dry cleaning, mainly because I think it’s kind of a hassle to have to drop it off and it pick up and then there’s the added expense. But, for some things, dry cleaning is preferred. It wasn’t until recently I started learning about “green” dry cleaning. With more and more dry cleaners popping up with the word green in their name, it made me wonder how “un-green” the traditional method is.
So I started doing some research. What I found was that the solvent that 90% of dry cleaners use to clean, is called perchloroethylene, or Perc. Well, Perc is a chemical that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers both a health and environmental hazard! Even with improvements in equipment, this toxic chemical can still get into the air, water and ground. Really? All that to get a stain out of my dress? Yes, but as I mentioned before, there are “greener” options available.
What makes these places greener? I was thinking the same thing, so I asked The Greener Cleaner at 1552 N Damen. Scott Fiero, Director of Business Development, explained that there is a method called wet cleaning that was developed in Germany. It’s a water based, solvent-free process using water and biodegradable soaps and conditioners, that have been proven entirely benign to health and the environment. The Greener Cleaner is Chicagolands only professional wet cleaners and they’ve been at it for over 15 years. In addition to using this more environmentally friendly and less toxic form of cleaning clothes, they use biodegradable plastic and recycle everything they can.
I’m sure there are people who can argue both sides of the fence here, but just given this information, I think I’ll try the Greener Cleaner next time, because with comparable prices and a location that’s within walking distance from me, why not opt for a chemical free cleaning?
