Does GreenEarth Dry Cleaning Get a Green Plus?
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Did you know of the 30-35,000 dry cleaning establishments in the United States, apparently only 1,200 of them are using GreenEarth® cleaning? Wikipedia defines GreenEarth cleaning as “a patented process for dry cleaning using liquid silicone (decamethylpentacyclosiloxane, or D5), a clear, odorless, non-toxic solvent solution.”
D5 supposedly degrades into silica and trace amounts of water and carbon dioxide within days if spilled or disposed. So here’s the question, if GreenEarth cleaning uses an odorless, non-toxic solution then why are more than 80% of dry cleaners in the U.S. still using a chemical (perchloroethylene or perc) that produces toxic waste?
And here’s the kicker….do you know what the primary alternative solvent for dry cleaners is? A solvent sold by Exxon-Mobil. Last I checked, Exxon-Mobil was in the gas business…so why is it dry cleaners are using their solvent on our clothes?
In addition, some dry cleaners using either of these two toxic chemicals are promoting their services as “organic”. Why?…because the chemical contains a chain of carbon (which is the scientific meaning of “organic”). I don’t know about you, but when I think organic I think about something that is natural, environmentally-friendly or at least free of harmful chemicals.
My recommendation….GreenEarth Cleaning definitely gets a green plus in my book. So the next time you take your clothes to the dry cleaners, find out if they are using toxic chemicals to “clean” your clothes or have they truly gone green.
5 Comments
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Tim
Hello, my name is Tim Maxwell, and I am the President of GreenEarth Cleaning. I would like to address a couple of points made here about our process.
We now have more than 1500 GreenEarth affiliated locations. The reason for our smaller market share is that dry cleaning equipment is very expensive, most dry cleaners are reluctant to switch unless their machines need replacing. We do have significantly more dry cleaners using our process than the other two green dry cleaning methods (professional wet cleaning and CO2 cleaning), for two simple reasons: first, our process does not burden the dry cleaner with higher machine or labor costs, and second, it can clean the widest variety of fabrics. This is why some of the biggest names in dry cleaning are GreenEarth Affiliates, including MW Cleaners, a division of Mens Wearhouse (www.mwcleaners.com), Procter & Gamble, which selected GreenEarth as its solvent of choice for Tide Dry Cleaners (www.tidedrycleaners.com) and Johnsons Cleaners (www.johnsoncleaners.com), the UKs #1 dry cleaner with more than 300 of its 500 locations already converted. You can be assured that these publically traded companies did their homework before investing their future in an alternative cleaning method.
Brandon makes a claim that our process causes tumors, and I want to make very clear this is not true. Our competitors work hard to sully our good name by spreading rumors like this. Our website has information posted specifically on this topic.
In addition to making untrue statements about our process, Brandon also makes the statement that is the best in terms of being truly Green. The Solvair system uses a propane glycol-ether to process clothes, which makes it hard to understand his claim. Perhaps he meant to say that because the Solvair process rinses in CO2, it is better than using perc, which would be more appropriate.
We trust the post by Brandon was simply misinformed, not maliciously intended. We work very hard as a company to be completely open and honest about our process, and invite anyone with questions to contact me by email, [email protected] or toll free at 877-926-0895.
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Peter
We are a lot of old Drycleaner working in the last century with HC, TRI, PERC, 1.1.1, 113 and with water.
Up from 2003 we beginnig to prove cleaning with silicone solutions. Later we find the legal use of GreenEarth/D5-Fluid ….
Today we can say: That we mean is the best we find. Now we use a Cleaners-Made-Own-Technology and a own GreenEarthProcess (without using in the machine any other product). We kill the bacteries drying with 70ºC and not need stilling than we using a special filtering and separating unit. We are happy, we working happy and our customers are happy.
If you come for hollydays to SPAIN, please come and see (and feel) as we work.
All the best
Peter
Brandon
GreenEarth is not the most environmentally friendly and uses a silicon based solvent that has found to cause tumors. Wet cleaning and liquid CO are good but the new Solvair process is the best by far in terms of being truly Green while providing exceptional cleaning quality. Solvair is completely different from straight liquid CO2 and no process currently can match its cleaning quality.