Model Dry Cleaners

Fifteen innovative U.S. dry cleaners were recognized in 1999 as Model Cleaners by the National Waste Prevention Coalition. The innovators include: a dry cleaner in Arizona that collects 500,000 hangers a year from its customers for reuse, saving $16,000 a year on new hanger purchases; a Denver firm that cut purchases of cleaning solvent by 65%; a Chicago cleaner that offers customers a reusable garment bag that converts into a laundry bag, reducing the need for disposable plastic bags; and a firm in California that cleans 2,300 pounds of clothes a week with a nontoxic “wet cleaning” process that eliminates use of perchloroethylene, the toxic solvent traditionally used by dry cleaners.

A report on the Model Dry Cleaners Project is available online.