<^e Sfc.
«&**. %
US. EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Pollution Prevention
and Toxics
(7406)
EPA744-F-98-011
June 1998
Design for the Environment
Garment and Textile Care Program Fact Sheet
Cleaner Technology Substitutes
Assessment for Professional
Fabricare Processes
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:
• Build incentives for behavior
change to encourage
continuous environmental
improvement.
• Work with specific industries
to evaluate the risks,
performance, and costs of
alternative chemicals,
processes, and technologies.
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
alternative 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
• Professional Institutions and
Trade Associations
• Academia
• Environmental and Public
Interest Groups
• Labor Unions
• Research Organizations
• Government purchasing
agencies
WHAT IS A CTSA?
Cleaner Technologies Substitutes Assessment, or CTSA, is a tool developed by the EPA
Design for the Environment Program (DfE) to do a relative comparison of the cost,
performance, and environmental and health risks of technologies used in a particular industry.
The CTSA is designed to encourage companies to consider environmental issues when making
business decisions about work practices and technologies. To develop a CTSA, EPA/DIE and
its project partners gather available information on existing and emerging chemicals, processes,
and technologies in that industry, and present it in one comprehensive technical report.
WHY WAS THE FABRICARE CTSA CREATED, AND FOR WHOM?
This Fact Sheet is based on a newly released CTSA focused on the professional drycleaning
(fabricare) industry. The CTSA was prepared by the DfE Garment and Textile Care Program
(GTCP) and is intended to be a resource for small cleaners who may have limited time and
resources to collect and analyze this large amount of detailed information themselves. The
appropriate audience for the CTSA is technically-informed, and might consist of individuals
such as owners, environmental health and safety personnel, equipment manufacturers, and other
industry decision-makers. The CTSA, a large document, is also available in summary form to
meet the needs of those who do not need the level of detail in the comprehensive version. The
CTSA will be used by the GTCP as the basis for public information products suitable for
broader non-technical audiences.
WHAT IS THE DfE GARMENT AND TEXTILE CARE PROGRAM?
The DfE Drycleaning Project, now the DfE GTCP, was initiated after a 1992 international
roundtable on drycleaning in which industry leaders and EPA agreed that health and
environmental issues surrounding the drycleaning industry could be addressed most effectively
through DfE's voluntary, proactive approach. The project partnership was established to
encourage the development and incorporation of environmentally-preferable cleaning methods
which professional cleaners can offer to their customers, while maintaining or increasing
economic viability. Initial efforts focused on the development and evaluation of new cleaning
methods, the development of training materials, and the publication of information. In 1996, at
the DfE Apparel Care Conference, it was recognized that decisions made in related industries
affect the cleanability of garments, and ultimately the decisions made by drycleaners. Recent
GTCP efforts, including a 1998 conference, have been to expand the partnership to include
representatives from other related industries such as garment and textile designers,
manufacturers, fiber producers, retailers, and consumers. The primary goal of the expanded
partnership is to explore how decisions made by other industries affect the incorporation of
environmentally-preferable methods into professional cleaning operations.
WHAT IS COVERED IN THE FABRICARE CTSA?
Technology
The CTSA covers existing and emerging technologies including perchloroethylene,
hydrocarbons, and wetcleaning. There have been a number of improvements in traditional
-------
drycleaning systems which are based on solvents such as
perchloroethylene. A relatively new process called wetcleaning
is a water-based system which uses large, specialized machines
to gently wash and dry clothes. The machines may be
programmed for many variables, such as mechanical action,
water and drying temperature, moisture levels in the dryer, and
water and detergent volumes. The CTSA contains a relative
comparison of existing processes: perchloroethylene (perc),
hydrocarbon (HC) systems including Stoddard, 140°, and DF-
2000, and wetcleaning. The information on emerging
technologies, those not yet commercially available, is general
and reflects information provided by the manufacturers. While
this information cannot be independently verified at this time, it
is useful to provide a glimpse at technologies that may become
viable choices for dry cleaners in the future. Emerging
technologies mentioned in the CTSA include a process that uses
carbon dioxide in a liquid state, a glycol ether based process,
and several others still in development.
Risks
The CTSA presents a screening level risk assessment on
existing professional fabricare processes. It is not a
comprehensive risk assessment of any one chemical. The
CTSA compares relative, not absolute, health, environmental
and safety concerns for each of the existing cleaning processes.
The CTSA does not, nor is it intended to, represent the full
range of hazards that could be associated with clothes cleaning
technologies. Careful interpretation of the risk information in
the CTSA is necessary given the extent and type of hazard and
exposure data, and their accompanying uncertainties. Also,
absence of information on a technology does not imply there
would be no risks associated with its use.
Performance Characteristics
The CTSA makes general comparisons among existing cleaning
processes. The comparisons are based on factors such as
consumer perception and ability of a process to clean garments
effectively. It is important for the proper interpretation of this
information to keep in mind that there is much more
performance information available for traditional cleaning
methods than for the newer ones. As the results of additional
performance studies become available, the GTCP will publish
fact sheets and case studies summarizing the new information.
Costs
The CTSA developed a cost analysis using industry-supplied
data and publicly available information. This analysis includes
the costs of running a professional clothes cleaning business
with factors such as rent, basic operating expenses, and
equipment. The equipment capacity, equipment type, and the
location of the facility will also affect the costs and economic
viability of a professional cleaning operation. The CTSA has
focused on a subset of costs associated with operating clothes
cleaning facilities.
HOW DOES THE CTSA AFFECT THE PUBLIC?
The public will benefit from the information published in the
CTSA and CTSA-based information products because these
documents will help them understand how their everyday
choices affect the environment. Consumers of professional
garment care face an every widening array of products and
services from which to choose. As people better understand
how a cleaning process affects their environment, they will be
better equipped to make responsible decisions that benefit them,
their families, and the community.
HOW DOES THE CTSA AFFECT DRYCLEANERS?
Drycleaners interested in new cleaning technologies will benefit
directly from the CTSA's compilation of information and
detailed analyses. The drycleaning industry as a whole is keenly
interested in process improvements and new process
developments, and there are a growing number of individual
cleaners who are actively seeking to incorporate new processes
into their businesses. The CTSA will provide useful
information on the methods that may be used by cleaners or
others to conduct their own evaluations.
WHAT IS IN THE FUTURE?
Through the DIE GTCP, EPA plans to continue working with a
broad base of stakeholders to incorporate environmental
concerns in fabricare industries. For example, EPA hopes by
supporting increased development and use of designs, fabrics,
and clothing construction techniques which are compatible with
environmentally-preferable cleaning processes, that those
products will allow cleaners to choose "greener" cleaning
techniques. It is anticipated that the publication of the CTSA,
along with new joint stakeholder efforts, not only will
encourage improvement and expansion of fabricare choices, but
will also remove barriers that prevent adoption of economically
competitive and environmentally sound processes.
HOW CAN I GET MORE INFORMATION?
Contact PPIC to receive an information packet to learn more about EPA's DfE
Program or the Garment and Textile Care Program, or to request a single copy
of the following documents:
CTSA for Professional Fabricare Processes (EPA 744-B-98-001)
Summary CTSA (EPA 744-S-98-001)
Fact Sheet (EPA 744-F-98-011)
Frequently Asked Questions about Drycleaning (EPA 744-K-98-002 )
U.S. EPA/PPIC
401M Street, SW (7409)
Washington, DC 20460
Phone: 202/260-1023
Fax: 202/260-4659
E-mail: ppic@epa.gov
http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/library/ppicdist.htm
Copies of these documents are also available for purchase from:
NTIS (800-553-NTIS)
DfE Garment and Textile Care Program home page:
http://www.epa.gov/dfe/garment/garment.html
------- |