Dry cleaning is losing a couple popularity contests — our waning economy can’t afford it, and our critical environment wants no part of it. Skyrocketing gas prices are causing Americans to put a hold on some of life’s luxuries (such as having other people wash your delicates), while the country’s skyrocketing environmental conscience is steering us further from energy-inefficient and toxic processes (such as having other people wash your delicates in mondo machines with harmful chemicals). These are the two most apparent reasons why professional dry cleaning is on the decline, and cheaper, greener alternatives are beginning to take their place.

In Cathleen Jeffrey’s blog, “Let’s Talk Money…,”I read about the decline of business at the local dry cleaner in the small town of Hull, Massachusetts. The owner of Family Ties Dry Cleaners admits that business has been at the slowest its ever been, and she believes it has all to do with the rising gas prices. Here’s a video that Cathleen put together:

In a separate article from STLToday.com, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch online, about how the economy is affecting the household budget, one reader commented about how her family has begun to line-dry more their laundry in order to save energy and money.

A separate, but not-too-disconnected issue that also affects Americans’ dry cleaning habits is its environmental ramifications. With the environment and sustainability brought to the forefront with rising gas prices and a push to find a cleaner, more plentiful source of energy (not to mention a desire to patch that gaping hole in our ozone layer), people are becoming more environmentally conscious. That said, and considering the fact that professional dry cleaning is far from enviro-friendly, the industry is taking a hit. Aside from the huge amounts of energy it takes to keep a dry cleaning plant up and running, the cleaning agent used to wash the clothes — perchloroethylene — is a soil contaminant and a central nervous system depressant, and therefore dangerous not only to the environment, but to also to people in direct contact with it.

In response to the hard times, and in the spirit of greener times, alternative dry cleaning methods are gaining in popularity. They’re more inexpensive, more environmentally friendly and more easily accessible than professional dry cleaning. Products like ours, Woolite® Dry Clean At Home by Dry Cleaner’s Secret, may be the solution for homemakers with a mortgage, a gas bill, and an environmental agenda.

As the summer moves on, there will no doubt be several states that will have to battle droughts and severe water shortages. It is during August and September, when the weather has dramatically affected some states that many people begin to think about conserving water. However, there is no need why we can’t start to do some things now to help slow down the potential for water conservation in the future. NST Online compiled some great advice for saving water this summer. One of the tips concerns conservation in the laundry room.
When doing the laundry, remember to adjust the water level according to the amount of clothes you are washing. If you have only a half-load of whites to get clean for the weekend, don’t wash them using the extra-large load setting. Most laundry machines have settings that can be easily changed to your needs. However, if you have an older machine that does not allow you to adjust the water level, wait to do laundry until you have a full load. Also, if you are buying a new machine, look for EnergyStar or other designations that may indicate that the machine is better at conserving water than others. Water efficient washing machines can save up to 7000 gallons of water a year.

Here are some great ways to shorten your laundry duty time this summer, as well as help Mother Nature out a tad. From The Sadbury Star, Ontario:

• Full capacity is key: Only do a load of laundry when you have a full load. Washing and drying one full load is more energy efficient than washing and drying two medium-sized loads. Also, when drying laundry refrain from adding wet items to a load that is already partially dried—it will just increase the cycle time.

• It’s cool to be cold: Nearly 90 percent of laundry costs come from heating the wash water. To help curb laundry costs, refrain from washing your clothes in hot water. For those concerned about removing odors and bacteria from their clothing, look for laundry options that can effectively clean clothes in cold water. For example, Samsung’s new Platinum washing machine features technology which removes 99.9 per cent of odour-causing bacteria without the need of hot water or bleach.

• Clean your dryer: Make a habit of cleaning out your dryer’s lint filtre after each use. A clogged filtre can lead to longer drying cycles — wasting both your time and money. Also, periodically check the outside dryer exhaust vent to ensure it’s clean, unobstructed and that the flapper can open and close freely.

• Timing is everything: Dry loads right after each other to take advantage of the heat still in the dryer from the previous load. Also set your dryer to an auto-dry setting instead of a timer setting to help reduce wasted energy.

• Take it outside: Put Mother Nature to work by hanging your laundry to dry outside this summer.

Here’s a presentation from Hesperian Cleaners. The Northern California cleaners was awarded the Business Environmental Award for Pollution Prevention/Resource Conservation by Acterra. Keep up the good work!

With the price of gas on the rise, it’s time to start thinking of other ways to save money. One idea—prolong the life of your clothes to cut down on clothing costs and to waste less gas driving to the mall.

Here are some tips from The Community Press that should help:

• Allow clothing items at least a 24-hour rest period between each wearing. This includes shoes.

• Air clothing after wearing and before it is stored. A good airing of several hours or overnight allows moisture from the body to evaporate and wrinkles to relax. Airing helps to naturally deodorize garments.

• Treat and remove spots and stains as soon as possible—within 24 hours is best. Use “emergency” techniques when necessary. Be sure the person who does your laundry or dry cleaning knows where stains are located as well as the type of stain. Every laundry room should have a good stain-removal guide.

• Never store clothing dirty. When allowed to remain, soil and/or stains may become permanent or cause permanent fabric damage. Soil and stains also attract insects.

• Clothing should be washed or dry cleaned only when soiled. Over-washing or over-dry cleaning can limit a garment’s life-span. Freshen or renew garments between wearings by using a good clothes brush and airing.

• Rely on the garment label for care instructions. Garment manufacturers are required to include at least one appropriate care method with a garment. Avoid purchasing garments without care labels.

• Keep several copies of the care label symbol guide close at hand for reference. It is good to have one in the bedroom or closet and one in the laundry area.

• Have you checked your laundering knowledge recently? As fabrics, equipment and products change, so does garment care technology. Learn what is new.

• Teach family members how to do laundry properly. It is not something we know how to do by instinct.

• Select a dry cleaner with as much care as you would choose your doctor or dentist. The life of your clothing may depend on it. Using over-the-counter dry cleaning products to dry clean in your dryer does not take the place of a commercial dry-cleaner when garments are soiled or stained.

• Use correct storage techniques for all your clothing. Use flat storage for stretchy items (sweaters, polo shirts, etc.) and appropriate hangers for other items. Padded and heavy wooden hangers are for tailored coats, suit jackets and tailored dresses. Tubular plastic hangers are all purpose or appropriate for lightweight blouses, dresses, woven shirts and lightweight slacks or pants.

• Remove garments from the dry cleaning plastic bag as soon as you get them home. Plastic bags trap moisture and odors, forcing them to penetrate or remain on the fabric.

• Wool garments may be renewed frequently without pressing if properly hung on a hanger and permitted to stand in a steam-filled room (e.g., bathroom). Wrinkles will disappear.

Believe it or not, your wallet and your wardrobe can benefit if you start shopping for clothes like men do. According to a Kansas State University clothing specialist, buying fewer, higher-end items and wearing them more frequently—something men are more likely to do—will yield you a lower cost-per-wearing.

With the correct care, higher-end items retain their appearance longer than low-quality, fashion items. Makes sense. Plus, there are certainly environmental benefits as well. The fewer clothes you buy, the lower the environmental impact of clothing production.

So, there’s some merit to wearing your boxers until there’s nothing left but threads. Bravo, kind sirs, bravo.

While perusing the Web this morning, we discovered a fantastic resource and online store for green clothing manufacturers. Greenloop brings together conscientious designers to promote sustainable fashion and social responsibility. And, they donate a minimum of 1% of sales to support the environment.

Greenloop supports sustainable textiles, recycling and re-use, renewable energy, reduction of green house gases, organic farming, sweat-shop free production, and environmental non-profit groups every single day through the products we offer.

Here’s a great video from RealWorldGreen.com, with host Eric Rochow, about how to be green when you’re doing your laundry. Enjoy!

For those of you interested in sustainable or ethical fashion, take a gander at FashionEthic.com. Founded by Candice Caldwell in 2007, the site caters to “forward-thinking fashionistas.” Their products come from manufacturers who either use organic and sustainable materials, recycled or repurposed items, practice fair labor and fair trade, or a combination of these.

Here are FashionEthic.com’s three guiding principles pulled from the site’s About section:

Fashion and Function First! – High-quality, desirable products get more use than undesirable or throw-away fashion. Keeping products in use for a longer period helps cut down on waste.

Support Ethically-Responsible Designers – At FashionEthic.com, you can easily see which ethics each garment and item has “achieved” and what you are supporting with your purchase. We are not the eco-police, we simply present information for you so you may make more educated choices.

Bring the Boutique Experience Online – We want to be your resource for ethical fashion and provide you with the same great personalized service you find in your neighborhood boutiques. Our “Dressing Room” and “Salon” features allow you to personalize your experience and interact with other shoppers as you desire.

In the 1980s, Katherine Hamnett‘s politically charged slogan T-shirts were flying off the shelves. Everyone, from the U.K. to the U.S.A. was wearing a shirt with “FRANKIE SAY ARM THE UNEMPLOYED” or “PEACE” printed in big block letters across the front. Now, Hamnett has expanded her company ethos with a new cause—ending the suffering among cotton farmers.

Beginning in 2003, Hamnett’s clothing is being made with 100 percent organic cotton in order to drive up the demand for organic materials and curb the poverty of conventional cotton farmers. For us consumers, this means all the very same 1980s tees that we loved are re-issued and reprinted on organic cotton, along with a few more relevant political messages.