If you are looking for a green Seattle dry cleaner, or for ways to be green with your own garment and textile cleaning, the Design for the Environment program (DFE), a branch of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has useful information for you.
Garment and Textile Care Partnership
The DFE's Garment and Textile Care Partnership is committed to promoting environmentally benign technologies for garment and textile care.
The Garment and Textile Care Partnership was developed by involving representatives from the EPA and stakeholders from industry, labor, community action and environmental groups, trade associations, and research organizations. By joining the EPA in its commitment to safer, cleaner technologies, professional cleaners can maintain a competitive edge in the marketplace. Like businesses, consumers also benefit from understanding how seemingly-mundane choices affect the environment. As people better understand how the product design and manufacturing process affects the environment, they will be able to make responsible decisions that benefit themselves, their families, and their communities.
Specific goals of the partnership are to:
- Identify and inform industry about environmentally preferable cleaning technologies.
- Encourage research and development of new technologies.
- Facilitate technology evaluation and information sharing.
- Educate professional cleaners and consumers about safer alternatives to traditional solvents.
- Promote the adoption of cleaning processes that minimize exposure to chemicals.
The EPA believes this approach will allow the DFE Garment and Textile Care Partnership to retain a leadership role in effecting fundamental change despite the many scientific, technological, and political uncertainties.