As we closed in on 2010 I thought that the entire
notion of referring to perchloroethylene (aka perc) and/or
synthetic petroleum dry cleaning solvents as "organic", "green",
"eco-friendly", "non-toxic" and/or "carbon neutral" had been
thoroughly debunked and exposed for what it is: a scam,
a hoax and a fraud.
I was wrong.
Arizona, say hello to "natural" dry cleaners.
Dry cleaners have now discovered a new term to describe dry
cleaning in synthetic petroleum -- Natural Cleaners. I should have
seen this coming. Debunk "green", "organic", "eco-friendly",
"non-toxic" and "carbon neutral" and someone will dig out their
Thesaurus and roll out a new, equally deceptive and false term.
Let's review the facts about synthetic petroleum ...
About 7%
of cleaners use synthetic petroleum, a hydrocarbon solvent that's a
byproduct of the manufacture of gasoline (brand name: DF 2000 from
Exxon Mobil Chemical or EcoSolv from Conoco Phillips Chemical).
Synthetic petroleum is often falsely positioned as an organic,
green, environmentally-friendly, non-toxic and/or carbon neutral
alternative to perc.
While synthetic petroleum is relatively more gentle on your fine
garments and household textiles than perc, it is, nonetheless,
subject to the same federal, state and local
environmental laws and regulations as perc, both in how it's used
and how it's disposed of.
From a health and environmental point of view, all hydrocarbon
solvents are volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOCs contribute to
the formation of ozone, which, in turn, has been linked to various
respiratory complications.
Many cleaners that use synthetic petroleum like to refer to
them
selves as "green cleaners", "organic cleaners",
"eco-friendly cleaners", "non-toxic cleaners" and/or "carbon
neutral cleaners". Technically, synthetic petroleum may be regarded
by chemists as "organic" because it contains carbon. But so is
nuclear waste technically organic because it too contains carbon.
And so is perc, the "bad" cleaning solvent that synthetic petroleum
was supposed to replace, technically organic. To suggest that
synthetic petroleum is somehow organic in the same way that an
apple is organic is deceptive and misleading. Actually, it's more
than that, it's a scam, a hoax and a fraud.
Even the godfather of the organic cleaners scam in the Valley
has, after about 5 years, begun to distance himself somewhat from
the notion that synthetic petroleum is "organic" in the way that
the general public understands the term "organic". He's changed the
name of his cleaners from Organic Cleaners to OrganiCare Cleaners
and now informs visitors to his website that "OrganiCare isn't
jumping on the "green" bandwagon by slapping the "organic" label on
everything we do." Talk about a flip flop! (Note to Wayne: The dry cleaning industry maven has
ripped off big chunks of your website!)
Any questions about the scam that is organic, green,
eco-friendly, non-toxic, carbon neutral or natural dry cleaning?
I'd be happy to respond.
How can I help you?