With all the environmental challenges we are facing as a planet, it can be daunting to think about even beginning to tackle them.
It might not seem like it, but even the smallest change does make a difference. If you choose to buy a product or service that’s more sustainable, you’re helping that company grow, and you’re essentially casting a vote for the world you want to live in. Or, say you decide to decide to start adopting a sustainable habit like Meatless Mondays. Not only are you helping the planet, you can influence your friends and family to change their ways as well by telling them about your new habit.
Environmentally-damaging practices are ingrained into so many aspects of our lives that while we try to make better choices, we have more problematic habits than we realize. Something as simple as the way you clean your clothes could be increasing your footprint without your knowledge. Taking good care of your clothes is so important to building a sustainable wardrobe, because it keeps them in good shape for longer so you can continue wearing them or donate them for someone else to use rather than throwing them out.
Dry cleaning is terrible for the planet. At least, this is true of most dry cleaning services.
I’ve started getting my outdoor gear and clothes cleaned by an eco-friendly dry cleaning service called ëClean. I love the service so much that I wanted to share the experience with you!
Environmental Problems With Traditional Dry Cleaning
At first, it may seem as if dry cleaning is more environmentally-friendly than using a washer and dryer. After all, it doesn’t use water, so it must help with water conservation, right?
Unfortunately, the typical dry cleaning process replaces water with something even more harmful: toxic chemicals. Almost all modern dry cleaners use a chemical known as PERC to remove stains and refresh your fabrics.
Every time PERC is used, at least some amount of it is released into the air. Not only does PERC create air pollution, but it poses a serious health risk to us all. Too much exposure to the chemical can lead to liver damage, kidney damage, respiratory problems, damage to the central nervous system (the spinal cord and brain), and more. These health problems are common amongst dry cleaning workers and people who live near dry cleaning facilities.
6 Ways ëClean, the Eco-Friendly Dry Cleaner, Makes a Difference
As distressing as it may be to learn how typical dry cleaning harms our planet and our health, the good news is that you have better options.
Switch to ëClean!
As a dry cleaner dedicated to being not only eco-friendly, but eco-responsible, ëClean keeps the planet safer in many ways, while keeping dry cleaning super simple for you.
Using Specialized Liquid CO2
The cornerstone of ëClean’s innovative process is the liquid ëClean used to clean your items. Instead of PERC or other risky chlorinated solvents, they use a clean liquid CO2.
As they clean, they use a closed-loop system to recycle all the liquid CO2. As a result, they don’t release the CO2 as waste into the environment. This makes eClean the most environmentally healthy dry cleaning process available.
Eliminating Water Waste
When some people find out about the harmful effects of traditional dry cleaning, they choose to “risk it” by washing their dry clean garments in their washing machine instead. As well-meaning as this is, it has the downside of using a lot of water. You also run the risk of damaging your favorite clothing.
Instead, it’s better to choose an eco-friendly dry cleaning process to protect both the environment and your clothes.
Avoiding Toxic Chemicals
The toxic chemicals used in the traditional dry cleaning process are dangerous for everyone involved. They pose high risks to the people working at the dry cleaning facility, and they affect the planet as well as all of us who live here.
By trading those chemicals for the innovative liquid CO2, ëClean offers a safer, healthier solution for everyone. Even the CO2 they use stays inside a closed system and out of the ecosystem.
Requiring Zero Heat Energy
After using liquid CO2 to remove stains and odors to restore your garments’ freshness, ëClean dries the clothes using a no-heat drying cycle.
This benefits the planet because it lowers total energy usage, using fewer natural resources throughout the process. It also benefits you because heat-free drying is gentler on your clothes, helping them maintain their size and shape.
As a result, heat-free drying is yet another way that choosing ëClean is a better option than traditional dry cleaning.
Making the Textile Industry More Eco-Responsible
One fact that surprises many people is how much damage the textile industry does to the planet. Between the plastic fibers in synthetic fabrics, the problems with disposing of materials, and the chemicals often used to grow and process natural fibers, not to mention the energy used in manufacturing and shipping textiles, the industry has a serious footprint.
The textile industry adds to the problem with cleaning practices used in the clothing manufacturing process. Many manufacturers use traditional dry cleaners and other harmful practices to clean their raw materials, such as cotton and wool.
ëClean, however, happily services textile manufacturers by using eco-responsible practices to clean raw materials. Each manufacturer who chooses this alternative is moving one step closer toward a healthier planet.
Tackling Difficult Items with Environmentally-Friendly Practices
Many clothing items and gear made out of fabric are notoriously difficult to clean. This includes natural wool clothing, leather jackets, sleeping bags, feather down items, tents, and more.
People with these items tend to go one of two directions. Some take their items to traditional dry cleaners, and the dry cleaners may need to use even more harsh chemicals to get the items clean.
Other people simply don’t wash their difficult items. Over time, the products develop odors or discoloration, so the owner throws them away. As a result, the items end up in landfills far more often than necessary.
The unique ëClean method helps treat these particularly challenging items with great success. They even clean accessories such as handbags and shoes, as well as pillows, bedding, and all the items mentioned above.
My Experience With ëClean
The first item I sent to ëClean was a pair of leather UGG boots I’ve owned for several years. These boots have traveled the world with me – from Iceland to Colorado and back again! Needless to say, they were beginning to smell, the interior lining had lost a lot of its fluffy feeling, and there were stains and marks on the leather.
I don’t buy leather goods often, due to their negative environmental and animal impacts, but when I do I make sure to take great care of them so that they’ll last for decades. My UGG boots are very well-made, and the company has made a commitment to improving its supply chain and sustainability practices.
The ordering and shipping process with ëClean was super simple. I selected leather boots from their menu of cleaning services, went through the checkout, and they emailed me a shipping label. I mailed off my boots and waited to see what they’d look (and smell) like when they returned.
About two weeks later, I received a notification that my boots were on their way home.
I couldn’t believe how amazing the boots looked when I pulled them out of the box! As you can see in the photo above, they look like new. The fluff on the inside is cozy again, they’ve lost their stench, and the leather looks fantastic.
Making an Eco-Responsible Choice with ëClean
Protecting the planet is all about making small lifestyle changes and habit swaps over time. ëClean, your eco-friendly dry cleaning company, offers one more way to make your lifestyle better for both the environment and ourselves.
Whether you need to clean your backpack, tent, leather jacket, boots, or any other textile goods, ëClean is an easy and eco solution.
To learn more about the unique ëClean laundering process, check out ëClean’s website.
Get free shipping on your order when you use my discount code or click the link below!
Discount Code: LAURELCHRISTINE
Disclosure: Please note that some of the above links are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission if you make a purchase.
