Eco Dry Cleaner Blog

Forum for Green Tips and Feedback

B-Line Takes Bike Delivery to the (Eco Dry) Cleaners October 13, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — ecodrycleaner @ 12:39 am

Eco Dry Cleaner, Portland’s greenest dry cleaner announced today that they have partnered with B-Line Sustainable Urban Delivery to handle the majority of its downtown deliveries and customer pick-ups. Eco Dry Cleaners has been able to replace several of their delivery vehicles with B-Line’s unique electric-assist cargo trikes– lowering their carbon footprint and supporting B-Line’s mission to provide an efficient and sustainable distribution network in the urban core.

“Partnering with B-Line’s trike delivery service makes perfect sense for us, “ explains DJ Widmer, director of sales at Eco Dry Cleaner. “Our whole business plan is built around sustainability, including keeping our customers off the road with yet another errand. With B-Line’s help, we can keep our delivery trucks off the road, too – which has a huge impact on both local air quality and on the amount of time we saving on parking and deliveries.”

B-Line services over a dozen companies with customers spread throughout the downtown grid. B-line’s trike system is able to replace or offset the time and cost involved with traditional cargo and truck delivery, bearing loads up to 600 pounds.

“We’re the right tool for a company like Eco Dry Cleaners,” adds Franklin Jones, B-line’s founder. “Transportation is a huge issue for businesses who need to get their products through high-traffic areas. B-line is able to better service their customers, and helps the business owner focus their time on running their business, not running all over town.”

B-line is steadily growing its presence in Portland, and gaining a reputation as a logistics company with a mission. The company was just selected as a winner of the Oregon Next Generation Companies Awards. This program recognizes businesses that employ industry-leading strategies in the way they manage their employees, generate profit and pursue environmental and economic sustainability. Jones was also a panelist at the GoGreen Conference, a sustainability leadership summit held this week in Portland.

Eco Dry Cleaner is a revolutionary new type of dry cleaner, breaking away from the trends of a very traditional industry. Designed with cutting-edge technology and sustainable practices from the ground up, Eco Dry Cleaner’s facility has the latest state-of-art, highly efficient dry and wet cleaning equipment that reuses solution to reduce waste and usage, and invests in wind power to run their facilities. They abandon the use of toxic solvents and employ safe, non-toxic cleaning agents in the cleaning process such as GreenEarth Cleaning, a gentle but effective cleaning agent. Find out more at www.ecodrycleaner.com.

B-Line Sustainable Urban Delivery is a transportation solution for the urban core, providing efficient, sustainable delivery services at a savings of 30–50% in cost per delivery stop. Partnering with businesses to handle their downtown and close-in delivery needs, B-Line solves the challenges conventional trucks and vans face in the “last mile” of a distribution network. Reducing CO2 emissions and congestion and stacking functions to maximize efficiency, B-Line’s mission is to make more livable communities for all. Learn more at www.b-linepdx.com.

 

 

Change a light, change the world. October 1, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — ecodrycleaner @ 11:05 pm

Change a light, change the world. Switching to those funny looking compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs produces the same amount of light with just 1/4 the electricity. Plus, they last 8 to 15 times longer!!

 

Don’t Be Green Washed!!! September 14, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — ecodrycleaner @ 11:52 pm

Lots of dry cleaners today market themselves as environmentally friendly.  Beware! They may not be as “green” as they want you to think.

Many dry cleaners market themselves as green or “organic” when in fact they are using petroleum-based solvents.  Scientifically, petroleum based solvents are indeed organic, but so is gasoline.  That’s because the term “organic” means something very different when it describes chemicals.  Any chemical with a carbon backbone is technically an “organic” chemical.  There are two main “organic” chemical dry cleaning solvents: perchloroethylene, or perc, and hydrocarbon.

Eighty five percent of dry-cleaners use perc; it has been the industry’s standard solvent since the 1950’s.  California recently instituted a ban of perchloroethylene dry cleaning because it poses serious health, air and groundwater safety concerns.  The EPA classifies perc as a likely human carcinogen and has just announced its intention to impose stricter drinking water standards to protect consumers from the dangers of groundwater contaminated by perc.

Some dry cleaners use hydrocarbon solvents, often marketed under the brand name DF2000.  Hydrocarbon solvents are a step in the right direction away from perc and they are non-toxic, however the EPA classifies them as a VOC (volatile organic compound) and a likely contributor to smog formation.  Like perc, hydrocarbon would require a costly environmental clean up if spilled.  To call either perc or hydrocarbon “green” is purposefully misleading.

GreenEarth Cleaning is the one of the only dry cleaning alternatives that is truly 100% environmentally friendly.  Instead of petro-chemicals, the GreenEarth Cleaning process uses pure liquid silicone and has no harmful environmental effects.  Silicone is also very safe for people.  It’s so gentle you could rub it on your skin—in fact, you probably already do, since silicone is also the base ingredient used in the majority of shampoos, body lotions, and other personal care products.  Silicone is essentially liquefied sand.  When released to the environment, it returns to the three natural elements it is made from: sand and trace amounts of water and carbon dioxide.

GreenEarth’ gentle cleaning method isn’t just good for the earth and for people; it’s also good for clothes.  Colors stay bright without fading and whites won’t fade, even with repeated washings; fabrics feel wonderfully soft and smooth.  Best of all, GreenEarth is good for the nose, because it is 100% odor free—no hazardous chemicals mean no more unpleasant “dry cleaning” odor.

Don’t be Green Washed!  When you see cleaners advertising “environmentally friendly”, ask them what process they are using.  If it isn’t GreenEarth Cleaning, it probably isn’t truly green.  Not sure what process your cleaner uses?  Do the “Sniff test”—if the store or your clothes have any odor at all, they’re using petrochemicals!  Visit www.ecodrycleaner.com for more info.

 

Prudential Northwest September 7, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — ecodrycleaner @ 11:27 pm

We’re now the preferred service for agents and staff of Prudential Northwest in the Portland area! Check them out: http://www.pru-nw.com/ If you can support them with your business please do so. They have taken action to choose greener choices and support small businesses that support the cause as well.

 

Save energy and time! September 2, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — ecodrycleaner @ 10:25 pm

Save energy and time by drying towels and heavier cottons in a separate load from lighter-weight clothes. If your machine has a moisture sensor, use it, you will save money!

 

Green Up Your Business August 26, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — ecodrycleaner @ 10:41 pm
A more sustainable business can mean everything from lean manufacturing practices to more efficient IT operations to better recycling programs to purchasing carbon offsets for your business. A more sustainable operation leads to a more profitable business. Get started by checking out our database of greener business resources. How to green your business

Have a “green your business” resource to add to the Sustainable Business Oregon database? Complete this form and we’ll help get the word out to the business community. Submission Form

For more info, check out: http://www.sustainablebusinessoregon.com/how-to.html

 

Save Energy! Shorter Showers is key. August 24, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — ecodrycleaner @ 10:53 pm

Take shorter showers! You won’t just save water; you’ll save a lot of energy too. Water heaters account for nearly 1/4 of home energy use. That’s huge!

 

Finally the well is stuffed! August 10, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — ecodrycleaner @ 10:22 pm

Finally!!! http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/08/steven-chu-static-kill-completed-successfully.php

 

Green up your laundry!! April 22, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — ecodrycleaner @ 12:38 am

Green up your laundry: do it all on one day a week. Washing full loads saves big on utility costs. Drying consecutive loads also requires less energy because it leverages the built up heat in your dryer!

Check out: http://ecodrycleaner.com/

 

Recycle at Work! February 16, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — ecodrycleaner @ 11:43 pm

Make recycling easy like we do by starting the Recycle At Work program at your office! Check them out: http://www.portlandonline.com/bps/index.cfm?c=49788

 

 
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