Beware of "Green" Dry Cleaners

Early last year, I noticed the grand opening of a green dry cleaner called Greensleeves in my neighborhood. I was really pumped about it. Traditional dry cleaners use perchloroethylene to clean your laundry, which is a known carcinogen. This establishment offered wet cleaning, which is a safe alternative to chemicals. Of course, it was more expensive but I didn't care. Frankly, I'd rather live.

Soon, many local dry cleaners started to advertise that they also used organic ingredients. I stopped by my old dry cleaner who had a "safe" method advertised, and when I asked him what he used, he told me "petroleum." That didn't sound safe to me, and it's really not. It's still toxic.

Today, I found an article in the The New York Times that explains the real truth behind many dry cleaners claims to be safe and organic. The jist of it indicates that "organic" can mean anything containing carbon - namely perch or even nuclear waste for that matter. It went on to say that the dry cleaning industry is highly unregulated so you need to proceed with caution.

Please read the article for more important details.

The moral of the story is don't believe everything you are told unless it comes from an impartial source.