A Cooperative
Project between
the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency and
the Garment and
Textile Care
Industry
FOR
THE
EPA 744-K-98-017, May 1999
US. EPA
Garment and Textile
Care Program
DISCLAIMER: This case study
has been reviewed by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) and approved for publica-
tion. It is based on experiences
gained from projects conducted by
EPA's Design for the Environment
program in collaboration with part-
ners from industry, public interest
groups, and research/educational
institutions. The information
contained in this document does
not constitute EPA policy. Further,
mention of trade names or
commercial products does not imply
endorsement or recommendation for
use. All product performance infor-
mation was supplied by the manu-
facturer^) and has not been inde-
pendently corroborated by EPA.
Case Study:
Water-Based Cleaning
System for Suede
and Leather
As part of a cooperative effort between
the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) and the professional garment and
textile care industry, the EPA Design for the
Environment (DfE) Program recognizes water-
based cleaning systems (wetcleaning) as one
example of an environmentally-preferable
technology that can effectively clean suede
and leather garments.
Currently, most of the Nation's 34,000
commercial drycleaners use perchloroethylene
(PCE or perc) as a solvent to clean garments.
Since 1992, in response to growing health and
environmental concerns about perc, EPA has
been working in a voluntary partnership with
the drycleaning industry to reduce exposures
to perc. EPA's DfE Garment and Textile Care
Program (GTCP) encourages professional
clothes cleaners to explore environmentally-
preferable technologies capable of cleaning
garments labelled "dryclean only." Numerous
companies in the garment and textile care
industry have begun using wetcleaning to clean
woven and knit fabrics. This process has also
been applied in the industry's leather and suede
segment, and one company, Kirk's Suede-Life,
Inc. (KSL), has developed a process to effec-
tively clean leather products using machine
wetcleaning.
Company Background
*
The C.K. Kirkpatrick Specialty Company
began cleaning leather goods in 1935 and
grew from businesses located in New York,
Chicago, and Los Angeles. It had acquired an
international clientele by the early 1960s.
In the late 1960s, the rival Suede-Life
Company developed a new process to clean
leather using continuous-solvent filtration and
heated drying. The two companies merged in
1970 to form Kirk's Suede-Life, Inc.
In the 1980s, KSL began to research alterna-
tives to traditional methods of suede and
leather cleaning. KSL's research stemmed
from the company's own environmental stew-
ardship and concerns relating to the use of
perc. After 4 years of testing, KSL marketed
its water-based "Clean & Green" process in
1993. That same year, perc drycleaners were
required to upgrade to expensive closed-loop
systems, making a switch to KSL especially
attractive. The Clean & Green process is now
used by all 100 KSL licensees located on six
continents. In addition, KSL's share of the
U.S. leather cleaning market amounts to more
than 70 percent.
In the near future, KSL will begin research on
the use of liquid carbon dioxide as a leather
cleaning solvent.
KSL's Partnership with Retailers
In 1994, Kirk's Suede-Life, Inc. (KSL) began
an innovative care label program. The labels
advise purchasers of new leather garments to
ensure that they are cleaned by a professional
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Operational Costs
KSL indicates that relative to drycleaning, KSL licensees find the
company's process to be less costly to operate. This is due to
lower costs for labor, energy, prespotting, and the elimination of
solvent supply and disposal costs. Processing costs are 4 to 21
percent lower than perc systems and 12 percent less to 4 percent
higher than petroleum systems. Electrical and natural gas costs
average 35 percent less than drycleaning costs because KSL does
not require heated water or substantial heat for drying. Finishing
requires 15 percent more time, but overall labor is lower than that
associated with perc processes as there is less damage and fewer
reglues are required. Floor space requirements are the same for
each process. Large-volume KSL operators have reduced opera-
tional costs by 20 percent. Smaller cleaners have reduced these
costs by smaller margins.
Impact on Businesses
According to KSL representatives, the KSL process performs
better than traditional drycleaning, reduces environmental
impacts, reduces human health and safety impacts, costs less to
operate than traditional drycleaning, and removes 95 percent of
all stains and soils. The cleaning cost per leather garment is
competitive with traditional drycleaningapproximately $30
to $40.
Relative to traditional drycleaning, the environmental regulatory
burden associated with the KSL process is significantly reduced.
The need to comply with the Federal and state hazardous waste
regulations and with the Federal and state water quality regula-
tions is eliminated.
What is Design for the Environment?
»
EPA's Design for the Environment (DfE) Program is a voluntary
initiative that forges cooperative partnerships among government,
industry, academia, and environmental groups. One of the
primary objectives is to incorporate environmental concerns into
the design and redesign of products, processes, and technical
management systems.
One of the goals of the DfE Garment and Textile Care Program
(GTCP) is to provide cleaners with information that can help
them run their facilities in a way that is safer for workers, more
environmentally sound, and more cost effective. To accomplish
this goal, the program utilizes EPA expertise and leadership to
evaluate the environmental and human health risks, performance,
and cost tradeoffs among clothes cleaning technologies. DfE dis-
seminates information to all interested parties and assists busi-
nesses in implementing cleaner technologies.
The GTCP is preparing several documents addressing environ-
mentally-preferable clothes cleaning technologies. In the near
future, these and other case studies will be available on the GTCP
web site and in hardcopy and include:
Case Study: Liquid Carbon Dioxide Surfactant System for
Garment Care (EPA 744-F-99-002)
Case Study: Wetcleaning Systems for Garment Care (EPA
744-F-98-016)
For More Information
For more information about Kirk's Suede-Life Clean &
Green, contact:
Bob Stewart
Kirk's Suede-Life, Inc.
2501 West Fulton Street
Chicago, IL 60612
Telephone: (800) 447-5475
Fax: (800)441-8640
E-mail: leatherman@prodigy.com
Visit Kirk's Suede Life's web site: http://www.ksl-c-g.com
Contact the EPA Pollution Prevention Information
Clearinghouse (PPIC) to receive an information packet
about EPA's DfE Program or the Garment and Textile Care
Program, or to request single copies of DfE documents, or
a revised DfE Publications list:
Pollution Prevention Information
Clearinghouse (PPIC)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
401 M Street, SW (7407)
Washington, DC 20460
Telephone: (202) 260-1023
Fax: (202)260-4659
E-mail: ppic@epa.gov
Visit the EPA DfE Garment and Textile Care Program
web site: http://www.epa.gov/dfe/garment/garment.html
Visit the DfE Program web site: http://www.epa.gov/dfe
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