How green is dry cleaning? Traditionally, not much! What’s a green minded person to do to get those dryclean only clothes cleaned up then?

First a little info about dry cleaning to back up that “not much” claim. Dry cleaners currently use a carbon-based product, perchloroethylene (PERC), as solvent to clean your clothes. It doesn’t cause a depletion to the ozone, so it’s good right? Just one problem is that it has been labeled a potential/probable human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Yikes!

What else? PERC contaminates both soil and water if spilled on the ground. Dry cleaners today are using PERC as well as a petro-chemical stoddard solvent. Both are listed under RECRA as hazardous waste. A landfill designed to accept hazardous waste is the only landfill that a drycleaner can use to dispose of the chemical waste from drycleaning.

Seek out safe green drycleaners that use:

Liquid Carbon Dioxide – safe nontoxic inflammable way to clean your clothes

Wet cleaning – “Environmentally preferred technology” for cleaning clothes labeled “dry clean only”

GreenEarth Siloxane – is a silicate based solvent and works in a similar was as PCE and the petrochemical counterpart with far less impact on the environment.

The EPA has a PDF list of cleaners using the Liquid Carbon Dioxide or Wet Cleaning alternative methods. GreenEarth Cleaning provides a locator using either zip code or city. Remember, when it comes to non-food regulation the term “organic” doesn’t mean “green” the same way. The term “organic” for chemicals is based on the scientific terminology which means it simply has carbon in it.

If you can’t find a green dry cleaner in your area, you do have the option of hand-washing some garments labeled “dry clean only” (especially if they’re natural fabrics – 100% cotton, wool or silk). Use cold water, a mild detergent and then air dry. More tips can be found at Consumer Reports