United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Pollution Prevention
And Toxics
(7406)
EPA 744-F-01-003
June 2001
Design for the Environment
Garment and Textile Care Program Fact Sheet
u.s. EFVV
What is Design for the Environment"!
EPA's Design for the Environment (DFE)
Program is a voluntary initiative that
forges partnerships with various
stakeholder groups in an effort to:
• Incorporate environmental concerns
into the traditional decision-making
parameters of the business world:
'cosf and 'performance.'
• Build incentives for behavior change
to encourage continuous environmental
improvement.
• Encourage green chemistry and green
engineering approaches that reduce or
eliminate environmental concerns.
To accomplish these goals, the program
utilizes EPA expertise and leadership to
compare the relative environmental and
human health risks, performance, and cost
tradeoffs of traditional and
environmentally-preferable technologies.
DFE disseminates information on its work
to all interested parties and also assists
businesses to implement the new
technologies identified through the
program.
The program currently has cooperative
partnerships with:
• Industry
Trade associations
Academia
Environmental & public interest groups
Labor unions
Research organizations
Government purchasing agencies
Professional institutions
• State and local governments
Other federal agencies
Military Uniform
Cleaning Study
What is the Goal
of the Study?
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is
collaborating with the Department of Defense
(DOD) to explore the feasibility of replacing
traditional drycleaning solvents, particularly
perchloroethylene, the primary process for clean
ing military dress uniform components, with environmentally-preferable cleaning
technologies. The overall goal is to reduce military personnel exposures to hazardous
chemicals at military installations, as well as to reduce costs associated with the
storage, transport, and disposal of traditional drycleaning solvents. The cleaning of
standard military uniforms in wetcleaning and liquid carbon dioxide is currently being
evaluated. The study may be expanded in the future to include other new cleaning
processes. The study is being conducted as part of the Defense Logistics Agency
Defense Supply Center Philadelphia's broader Pollution Prevention and Waste
Minimization Programs aimed at reducing the use of chemicals that are potentially
harmful to human health and the environment.
Who is
Conducting the
Study and Why?
In 1992, EPA established a partnership with the
drycleaning industry and other stakeholders,
including the DOD Defense Logistics Agency's
(DLA) Defense Supply Center Philadelphia
(DSCP), as a result of shared health and environ-
mental concerns with perchloroethylene, orperc,
the chemical solvent used by most drycleaners. The DSCP is managing the study with
technical support from the EPA Design for the Environment (DFE) Garment and
Textile Care Program (GTCP). The uniform cleaning is being done by a well-known
large commercial drycleaner, Lansing Cleaners, Lansing, Illinois. Garment testing is
being carried out at the DLA Physical Testing Analytical Laboratory.
The DOD's DSCP is responsible for procurement of a wide range of services for
military personnel, including professional cleaning services for all military installations
and Naval vessels. In recent years, DSCP has become increasingly concerned about
military personnel exposures to hazardous chemicals at military installations, as well as
the regulatory costs associated with traditional drycleaning solvents. Professional
drycleaners located at over 500 U.S. military bases and on-board many Naval vessels
provide cleaning services to approximately 1.2 million military personnel plus their
families. As such, professional drycleaners are one of the largest groups of civilian
chemical users that come into direct contact with military personnel and their families.
That is why DSCP has decided to evaluate the performance of environmentally-
preferable technologies for the cleaning of military clothing and textile apparel. If new
cleaning processes not dependent on regulated chemicals are found to be feasible for
cleaning standard military uniforms, this will reduce the opportunity for human
exposures as well as reduce overall chemical handling costs.
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How is the Study
Being Conducted?
The study involves cleaning
standard military uniforms
labeled "-Dry Clean Only" in
three professional cleaning
processes, followed by
standardized testing to determine changes in the garments as a
result of the cleanings. All of the uniforms were supplied by
the DLA's Directorate of Clothing and Textiles (DCT) and
were selected from the same contract and lot to ensure
uniformity of fabric and construction. The standard military
uniforms selected for the study include three sets of Army
Green polyester/wool blend enlisted uniforms and black all-
weather coats. Each set of test garments consists of a suit coat,
a skirt, a pair of trousers, and an all-weather coat. To allow
comparisons between processes, identical sets of these four
garments will be cleaned in each one of the three test methods.
One set of uniforms will be cleaned in a Unimac wetcleaning
system, one set in a Micare liquid carbon dioxide process, and
one set in a perchloroethylene process. All cleaning processes
including detergents, additives, and machine settings, will be
according to industry standards and fully documented. In order
to employ "real world conditions," all test uniforms will be
handled, cleaned and finished exactly as they would be if they
were brought in by a typical Lansing Cleaners' customer. A
fourth identical set of uniforms will not be cleaned so it can
serve as a control to be compared to the cleaned garments.
In order to approximate the normal expected life of these
military uniforms, the garments will be cleaned a total of
fifteen times, accomplished in three sets of five cleanings each.
At the conclusion of each set of five cleanings, all uniforms
will be sent to the DLA Physical Testing Analytical Laboratory
where they will undergo a series of standardized textile tests for
visual appearance, dimensional stability, color fastness, break
and tear strength, and standard stain removal.
As of June 2001, a pilot study was concluded and involved
cleaning identical sets of uniforms five times each in the three
cleaning processes. The pilot was conducted primarily to
establish study methods and determine feasibility for the larger
study.
Results from the study are
expected in the fall of 2001.
In the meantime, results
rom a pre-pilot test of the
study cleaning methods
indicate that there were visible differences in the garments
cleaned by the three cleaning processes, as evidenced by
changes in their physical appearance. In the pre-pilot, the
appearance of the liquid carbon dioxide-cleaned uniforms most
closely resembled new uniforms, and the perc-cleaned
uniforms showed the greatest amount of surface deterioration
in the form of overall pilling. The three black all-weather coats
had noticeable color changes, i.e., fading. The coats with the
least amount of fading were cleaned in the liquid carbon
dioxide process.
It is important to point out that these preliminary results are
based on the subjective observations of DOD and EPA
personnel, and may or may not be confirmed by the more
objective standardized test methods to be employed in the full
study.
How Will The Study
Affect Drycleaners
at Military Sites?
I_
The results will be used to support
a DOD recommendation to place
an instruction such as "Profession-
al Fabricare" or "Professionally
Clean" on the care label of
selected military garments. This
change in labeling would officially allow drycleaners providing
services to military personnel to use environmentally-preferable
processes instead of traditional drycleaning solvents. In addition,
information collected in this study may be used as the basis for revising
the military pecification to replace traditional "drycleaning" with a
term such as "professional cleaning," opening the door for use of
environ-mentally-preferable technologies on military bases world-wide
and on U.S. Navy vessels. This study may begin to pave the way for
professional cleaners at military sites to offer environmentally-
preferable cleaning technologies to their customers.
In the long run, the use of these technologies will reduce drycleaners'
costs from regulatory compliance as well as from chemical handling
and disposal. By joining EPA and DOD in a commitment to safer,
environmentally-preferable technologies, drycleaners can maintain a
competitive edge in the marketplace. By offering environmentally-
preferable process choices to their customers, drycleaners can improve
their operations and bottom line, while contributing to a safer environ-
ment and healthier workplace. As consumers, military and civilian,
increasingly opt for "green" environmentally-sound products and
services, drycleaners that consider the health and environmental
impacts of their business decisions are more likely to sustain solid
support from both their customers, neighbors, and communities.
How Can I Get More Information?
For information about the DOD Defense Logistics Agency's Defense
Supply Center Philadelphia, visit their web site at:
http://www.dscp.dla.mil/
For information about EPA's DFE Garment and Textile Care
Program, visit their web site, where publications can be read and
downloaded: http://www.epa.gov/dfe/garment/garment.html
Recent publications include:
Military Uniform Cleaning Study Fact Sheet (EPA 744-F-01-003)
100% Wetcleaning Facility: Route-Only Service Case Study (EPA 744-F-01-004)
Liquid Carbon Dioxide and Surfactant System Case Study (EPA 744-F-98-018)
Wetcleaning Systems for Garment Care Case Study (EPA 744-F-98-016)
Water-Based Cleaning System for Suede and Leather (EPA 744-F-98-017)
Major Federal Regulations Affecting Petroleum Drycleaners Fact Sheet
(EPA 744-F-99-005)
Frequently Asked Questions about Drycleaning (EPA 744-K-98-002)
Garment and Textile Care Resource Guide (EPA 744-K-98-005)
Cleaner Technologies Substitutes Assessment for Professional Fabricare Processes
(CTSA) (EPA 744-B-98-001)
CTSA: Summary (EPA744-S-98-001)
CTSA Fact Sheet (EPA 744-F-98-011)
A web list of cleaners offering Wetcleaning, liquid CO 2 & liquid silicone processes
Single copies of DFE documents can be ordered from:
EPA's Pollution Prevention Information Clearinghouse
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW (7409)
Washington, DC 20460
Telephone: (202) 260-1023
Fax: (202)260-0178
Email: ppic(@,epa.gov
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