The drycleaning industry produces a quality of
product that's mediocre at best (there, I said it and I'm not sorry
for saying it).
For years, industry experts, industry consultants and national
industry associations have been banging the drum of product
quality. They've exhorted (no, actually they've begged) cleaners to
refocus on quality of product and the critical ingredients that
comprise quality of product -- skills, processes, craftsmanship,
equipment and facilities.
All to little or no effect.
So how did the industry land in this cesspool of mediocrity?
Because cleaners drifted away from quality of product (a truly
difficult undertaking) and focused instead on other differentiating
factors (a much easier undertaking).
First it was
service -- same day service, next day service,
smiley-face service, have-a-nice-day service, etc.
Next it was
conveniences -- 3 day pickup and delivery, 24/7 drop
off, 24/7 order retrieval, credit and debit cards, house accounts,
etc.
Then came
image and glitz -- granite countertops, recessed
lighting, glossy fashion posters, coffee bars, aromatic candles,
cool jazz, etc.
There's just one problem: as more and more cleaners ramped up
their service, conveniences, and image and glitz, many found that
these attributes ceased to be differentiating factors.
So now they're trumpeting green -- everything
from their
drycleaning solvents and fluids (synthetic
petroleum, siloxane, liquid carbon dioxide, hybrid glycol
ether/liquid carbon dioxide and/or wetcleaning), their responsible
waste handling, their natural gas fired boilers, their plant
maintenance program, their insulated steam pipes, their mercury
free fluorescent bulbs, their duel flush toilets, and their
cardboard and plastic recycling program to their biodiesel fueled
delivery vans, their biodegradable poly, their hanger recycling
program, their energy efficient printers and fax machines, and
their reusable garment bags.
Fact is, for many cleaners it doesn't even matter
whether there's any truth to their green claims. Just saying
you're green is all that counts.
After all, you can experience the service, you can take
advantage of the conveniences, and you can see, hear and smell the
image and the glitz. But apart from reusable garment bags
you'll never know the truth about their green
claims.
For example, in the metro Phoenix area market we've got a "Green
Cleaners" that drycleans in perchloroethylene (aka perc). We've
even got an "Organic Cleaners" (aka OrganiCare Fine Garment Care
Centers aka OrganiCare Fine Drycleaning and Laundry) that drycleans
in synthetic petroleum at one location and perc at a second
location. That's right. A "Green Cleaners" and an "Organic
Cleaners" that dryclean in perc -- the very same solvent that they
decry as a potential human "cancer causing carcinogen" as well
as a groundwater and air pollutant.
This is much more than just greenwashing.
It's a fraud on the public.
Here's the take home ...
The greening of the drycleaning industry is admirable. But, as
usual, the thing that's all the rage is being oversold and over
hyped. What's more, it deflects attention away from the only matter
that really counts: true quality cleaning.
Of course, it doesn't have to be an either or
situation. You can have both. You can be a
true quality cleaner and be green. RAVE FabriCARE is a case in
point.
How can I help you?