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  EPA's Design for the
  Environment  Program
.  .^sfffeaw ^/X.
  ;AEROSRACE
 EPA, through its Design for the
 Environment (DfE) Program, is
 working with a variety of
 industries—from dry cleaners to
 printers to metal platers—to
 encourage the design of safer
 processes and products by
 eliminating or minimizing
 pollution. DfE conducts
 collaborative studies and shares
 research with government
 agencies, industry groups,
 public interest groups,
 universities, and others.

 The overall mission of DfE is to
 cultivate pollution prevention
 strategies that integrate both
 environmental and economic
 objectives. In this way, a critical
 link can be forged between the
 need to protect the environment
 and the need for economic
 productivity.
  DRY GLEANING
  ELECTRONICS
METAL" PLATING
PRINTING;

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        fie Concerned About  Dry Cleaning?
       ry cleaners use solvents to remove dirt and
       stains from fabric. Perchloroethylene,
       commonly known as "perc," is a toxic
       solvent used by most dry cleaners. Perc is
       designated as a hazardous air pollutant
       under the federal Clean Air Act. Because
 of health and environmental concerns associated
 with the use of perc, DfE is exploring different
 technologies that may prove to be viable
 alternatives for some dry cleaners.
PHOTO- TOOD'S YOUR ANSWER. LTD.

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How Does Dry  Cleaning Work?
         Inspect gar-
         ments for plains
         arid pretreat if
         necessary:*,;
         Clean and dry
         garments; recy-
         cle solvent  ;-;
Remove stains
         Press and finish
       ry cleaning is similar to home
       laundering except that clothes are
       washed in solvents instead of soap
       and water.  Dry cleaning avoids
       saturating fabrics with water. This is
       significant because certain fabrics (like
silk, wool, and rayon) can shrink or be
otherwise damaged if immersed in water.
•  Before garments are dry cleaned, they are
  .inspected and sorted into  dark and light
   loads. Stained or heavily soiled garments
   are pretreated.

H  The garments are then cleaned in a
   machine that contains  a solvent, a small
   amount of detergent, and  typically a sizing
   agent.  During cleaning, this solution is
   continuously circulated through a filter.
   The filter removes any dye that has bled
   from the garments and any soil that will
   not dissolve in the solution. The garments
   are then tumbled in hot air to recover any
   solvent that remains in the clothing. Dry
   cleaners recycle spent  solvent so that it
   can be used again in the cleaning process.

B  The garments are then removed from the
   machine and inspected for any remaining
   stains. If present, these stains are removed.
•  Lastly, the garments are "finished" by
   steaming and pressing. •

Used filters and cleaning  residues contain
solvent and are considered hazardous waste.
These should be disposed of according to
applicable regulations.

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          ulti process wet
          cleaning is a method
          for hand cleaning
          clothes that uses soaps
          and a controlled
          application of water.  It
 is called "multiprocess" because
 a number of different steps can
 be included in the cleaning
 process, depending on the type
 of fabric and the type of spots,
 stains, or soil to be removed.
 Unlike dry cleaning, where nearly
 every garment receives a
 standard treatment, in
 multiprocess wet cleaning, the
 treatment is customized for each
 garment.
 A cleaning technician inspects
 every incoming garment for dirt
 and stains. The technician then
 determines which cleaning
 techniques should be applied.
Typically, a combination of
techniques are used to clean a
single garment. Depending on
the garment, it is then either
tumble dried in  a machine or
hung to dry.
I           I
                                    JPreissaricl firiisK
                      ;;lunib!e;clirying

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PHOTO, TODO'S YOUR ANSWER. LTD.
The cleaning techniques used in the process can be
grouped into four general categories:
•  Concentrated Cleaning. A concentrated
   cleaning solution is applied to very soiled
   garments and heavy clothes (like raincoats and
   down jackets). A wire brush might be used on
   difficult stains. The garments are then hung to>
   dry.

•  Steaming.  Garments with difficult stains, odors,
   or soiling are subjected to extensive steaming,
   spotting, and tumble drying.

B  Handwashing. Delicate and washable fabrics
   (those that will not be damaged by saturation in
   water) are immersed in soapy water and gently
   handwashed. These garments are then  hung to
   dry instead of being  put in a dryer.

•  Tumble Drying. Garments that are not stained
   and simply need to be freshened are run through
   a tumble dryer. A sheet of scented fabric softener
   may be  used.

After cleaning, all garments are pressed and
finished with the same  equipment used by dry
cleaners.
     Does Multiprocess Wet Cleaning Work?
                          In November and December of 1992, EPA, the
                          Neighborhood Cleaners' Association (NCA), the
                          International Fabricare Institute (IFI), the
                          Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Institute, and
                          EcoClean (the'commercial vendor of the wet
                          cleaning process) collaborated on a study to
                          measure the performance of the two technologies.
                          The study indicated that multiprocess wet cleaning
                          performed as well as or better than traditional dry

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cleaning.  These promising findings are preliminary,
however, since the study was short-term and not
designed to collect certain types of data that will
help in fully measuring the effectiveness of the two
technologies.
|;  Measuring  Performance
I                •           ...                           "
f T-he Dry Cleaning Partnership conducted tests to measure the effectiveness
;  of multiprocess wet cleaning and traditional dry cleaning:
   Customer Satisfaction

  In one test, the Partnership cleaned approximately 1,500 garments {belonging
  to government employees who participated in the study) at the New York
 . School of Dry Cleaning.  Approximately half of the garments were randomly
  chosen to be cleaned by multiprocess wet cleaning. The other half were dry
  cleaned. Participants completed postcards to express their opinions about
  the quality of the cleaning job performed on the garment; they did not know
  which technology had been used to clean their garment. Garments cleaned
  with multiprocess wet cleaning scored equal to or better than those that were
  dry cleaned.
  Performance Wear

  In another test, 13 volunteers were given two identical garments. They wore
  each garment for two days at a time, and then the garment was cleaned using
  one of the two processes. Each garment was worn and cleaned three
  times. The volunteers did not know which process had been used to clean
  their garments. The purpose of the test was to help determine whether wear
  would affect the performance of the two cleaning processes. After cleaning,
  the volunteers evaluated the clothes for such factors as cleanliness, press
  and finish, removal of stains and spots, and change in color of the cleaned
 clothes.  Volunteers judged the wet cleaned garments to be slightly better
 than those that were dry cleaned.
 The garments worn by the volunteers also were evaluated for overall appear-
 ance,  shrinkage, odor, color change, feel, and damage such as stretching or
 pilling. The garments that  were wet cleaned and dry cleaned generally
 received similar scores; however, the wet cleaned garments received higher
 marks for appearance and odor.
 The results of the performance wear evaluation are preliminary due to such
 factors as the  short duration  of the study,  the limited quantity of data
 gathered, and the wear and cleaning patterns of the test garments (which
 may not be  typical  of normal consumer wear). These issues  are being
 addressed through additional research.

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                   tiprocess Wet Cleaning Cost?
                   sing information from dry cleaning experts
                   and from the 1992 demonstration project,
                   EPA compared the costs of dry cleaning
                   versus multiprocess wet cleaning. The
                   study was based on,a start-up, hypothetical
                   cleaning facility with an annual sales volume
             of $260,000 ($5,000 per week).
             Economic modeling indicated  that the total annual
             costs would be very similar for dedicated dry and
             wet cleaning facilities. The higher labor costs
             associated with the multiprocess wet cleaning
             process would be offset by significantly lower costs
             for equipment and supplies (see box below).
             Another benefit of multiprocess wet cleaning is that
             it does not entail hazardous waste disposal.
   Annual  Cost Comparison*
                       Dry Cleaning             Wet Cleaning
Total Annual Costs
Labor
Equipment
$43,920
5,000
47,200
$43,880
15,500
540
t
   *lt should be noted that this table presents only those costs that varied significantly
   between the two processes; there'are other costs associated with both dry and wet
   cleaning that are not listed above.

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 Is  Multiprocess  Wet Cleaning Profitable?
     she model also showed that new,
     "dedicated" wet cleaning facilities
     (those that do 100 percent wet
     cleaning) can realize greater profits
     and a higher return on investment
     than dedicated dry cleaners. The
 return on investment is estimated to be
 26.3 percent for multiprocess wet
 cleaning versus 14.8 percent for dry
 cleaning.
 New facilities that do a mix of wet and
 dry cleaning can be as profitable as
 dedicated dry cleaners, so long as wet
 cleaning does not exceed 50 percent of
 the cleaning volume. Beyond the
 50-percent point, multiprocess wet
 cleaning is still profitable, but profitability
 declines because dry cleaning
 equipment is being underutilized.
 For facilities that are considering
 retrofitting  to do a mix  of wet and dry
 cleaning, the profitability scenario is not
 as attractive. The more multiprocess wet
 cleaning such facilities do, the more
 underutilized their dry cleaning
 equipment will be.  If a facility replaces
 its dry cleaning equipment and converts
to dedicated multiprocess wet cleaning,
 however, it can be as profitable as a
new, dedicated multiprocess wet
cleaning facility.
 $22,500
 $20,000
$17,500 -
$15,000
      20,400
                            21,400
       100%
      Dry Clean
 50%Dry/
 50% Wet
  100%
Wet Clean
$22,500
$20,000
$17,500
$15,'QOO
                            21,400
      20,400
       100%
      Dry Clean
50%OfY/
50% Wet
 100%
Wet Clean

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        Is the Future of
                               ultiprocess wet cleaning is a promising
                               technology.  Initial studies indicate that it
                               is cost-effective and performs well.  Most
                               importantly, the technology has the
                               potential to reduce the need for dry
                               cleaning solvents. More research is
                     needed, however, before any definitive conclusions
                     can be made about the future of multiprocess wet
                     cleaning in this country. These include:
                     € Multiprocess wet cleaning is more labor-intensive
                        and less automated than dry cleaning.

                     E Care labeling rules might  prevent the widespread
                        use of wet cleaning  on garments that are labeled
                        "dry clean only."
                     s More research  is needed to determine whether
                        the process cleans garments to an acceptable
                        level on a long-term basis.

                     m As with any promising technology, the potential
                        health and environmental risks associated with
                        the process must be analyzed.
                     EPA is planning a longer-term study to further
                     investigate the viability of multiprocess wet
                     cleaning and several other cleaning technologies.
                     The results of these studies will be published when
                     they become available.
8

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    'he information being generated by the Dry
     Cleaning Partnership can help dry cleaners
     evaluate the health and environmental impacts
     of their business decisions and consider, where
     feasible, alternative ways of doing business.
     This information can be especially important as
dry cleaners face the possibility of increased
regulation at the federal, state, and local levels. The
data the Partnership is
gathering can also
assist individual
consumers as they
make everyday
decisions about which
products to buy and
services to use.
                            PHOTO: NEIGHBORHOOD CLEANERS ASSOCIATION

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How Can I Get More Information?
                          3 or more information or to obtain a copy of
                           EPA's full report entitled Multiprocess Wet
                          ! Cleaning: Cost and Performance Comparison
                           of Conventional Dry Cleaning and an
                           Alternative Process, write to the Pollution
                           Prevention Information Clearinghouse (PPIC),
                      U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M
                      Street, SW. (3404), Washington, DC 20460, or call
                      202-260-1023 and request a copy of document
                      number EPA744-R-93-004.
                      The document also is available at a cost of
                      $12 from the Government Printing  Office (GPO).
                      Call 202-783-3238 and ask for document number
                      EPA 744-R-093-004, or write to GPO, 732 North
                      Capitol  Street, HE., Washington, DC 20401.
Contributors to EPA's Research on  Pollution
Prevention  in the Dry Cleaning Industry
The following organizations, companies, and government agencies contributed to EPA's study of
pollution prevention in the dry cleaning industry:
Amalgamated Clothing and Textile
Workers Union
Center For Neighborhood Technology
The Dow Chemical Company
Dryclean USA, Inc.
Dry Cleaners and Launderers Institute
of Ontario
EcoClean International, Inc.
Environment Canada
Fabricare Legislative and Regulatory
Educational Organization (FLARE)
Greenpeace
Halogenated Solvents Industry Alliance
The International Fabricare Institute
The Massachusetts Toxics Use
Reduction Institute
The Neighborhood Cleaners Association
Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for
use by either the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or other firms, organizations, or individuals who have
participated in the preparation of this booklet.
1O

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