Support Your Local Wet Cleaner

Dry cleaners are the single largest users of Perchloroethylene (Perc) – an organic solvent of known human toxicity and suspected carcinogen. It can cause short-term health effects such as respiratory distress and sore throats, and is a precursor to ground level ozone (smog). Once PERC enters the body it is stored in fat tissue. It is usually released into the air, but makes its way into groundwater.

There are 25,000 – 35,000 dry cleaners in the U.S. using Perc. Most are small businesses owned by people for whom English may be a second language. They often have technical difficulty understanding our environmental regulations.

Virtually every garment labeled “dry clean only” can be cleaned with Perc substitutes such as “wet” cleaning or “recyclable carbon dioxide.” The Professional Wetcleaning Network is a new trade association that promotes environmentally sensitive alternatives to Perc.

Visit their website for a list of wet cleaners in your state. There are a half dozen or so in Canada too.

And don’t forget to return your hangers! Some wet cleaners will also take your plastic.

www.tpwn.net