DES PLAINES, Ill. — When baby boomers hear the words “dry cleaning,” they think “professional” and “specialty care.” When Gen Z hears the same words, they think “fancy clothes” and “Where?”

That stark contrast reveals a fundamental challenge facing the drycleaning industry, according to Katelyn Kratz of Safety and Environmental Compliance Consultants and co-executive director of the Heartland Fabricare Association (HFA).. 

During a recent Drycleaning & Laundry Institute (DLI) webinar, “Generations of Clean: Reaching the Next Generation of Consumers and Employees,” Kratz shared survey data showing how dramatically attitudes toward drycleaning have shifted across generations.

“The industry has two top complaints,” Kratz says. “We need more customers, and we need more employees. But to meet those demands, we must first understand our current consumers, recognize consumer perceptions surrounding the industry, and acknowledge the needs and wants of the next generations.”

Kratz conducted a comprehensive survey that gathered 529 responses from general consumers and current drycleaning customers. The results revealed very different perceptions between the generations.

Baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964), who make up the majority of current drycleaning customers, associate the service with quality and professionalism. Their top associations include “expensive,” “professional,” “needs special care,” “pressed,” “dress clothes” and “specialty care.”

By the time the survey reached Gen X respondents (born between 1965 and 1980), however, some troubling shifts had emerged. While “needs special care,” “suits,” and “dress clothes” remained top associations, a new word appeared near the top of the list: “chemical” — often paired with the word “toxic.” Gen X respondents also introduced “inconvenient” and “formal wear” as common associations.

“You’ll notice they lost the word ‘fresh’ compared to boomers,” Kratz says. “That’s significant because it suggests a shift in how people perceive the outcome of dry cleaning.”

The perception shift becomes more pronounced with millennials (born between 1981 and 1996). Their top associations include “fancy clothes,” “needs special care,” “inconvenient,” “formal wear” and “luxury/rich people.” One response that appeared multiple times: “My dad.”

“Millennials have largely disconnected dry cleaning from their own lives,” Kratz says. “They see it as something for a different generation or a different income bracket.”

The usage data backs this up. While 36.7% of baby boomers use dry cleaning a few times per year and 31.7% use it monthly, 74.7% of millennials report they rarely or never use drycleaning services.

For Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012), the perception challenge is even more fundamental. While their top associations still include “fancy clothes” and “needs special care,” new responses suggest a basic awareness problem.

“We saw responses like, ‘Where?’” Kratz says. “We saw a decrease in the word ‘professional’ compared to older generations. Some Gen Z respondents literally asked, ‘Do those still exist?’”

The usage numbers tell a more troubling story: 80% of Gen Z respondents report they rarely or never use drycleaning services.

“One Gen Z respondent wrote about their grandpa getting his jeans starched,” Kratz says. “Another mentioned their mother’s nice work suits. These younger consumers see dry cleaning as something from their parents’ or grandparents’ generation, not as a service relevant to their own lives.”

Beyond generational perception differences, Kratz’s survey revealed a broader awareness crisis. When asked about services dry cleaners offer, 48.7% of consumers were aware of less than half of the services listed.

Even among current customers, 27.6% were aware of less than half of the available services at their dry cleaner.

“Do customers know what you do and how you do it?” Kratz asks. “The data suggests many don’t. We had respondents ask, ‘Where is the water? How can you clean without water?’ Others mentioned concerns about ‘dirty chemicals.’ There’s a fundamental lack of understanding about the drycleaning process itself.”

Comments from survey respondents reinforced this awareness gap. One millennial wrote: “I grew up only taking coats or dress clothes to get dry cleaned. I forget that there are other options.” Another said: “I only use dry cleaners when I have garments that show hand-wash or dry-clean only.”

While the survey data reveals significant challenges, Kratz says these are fundamentally marketing and branding issues rather than insurmountable obstacles.

“All of that — that’s a branding and marketing issue,” she says. “And those issues, we can work on.”

The key, according to Kratz, lies in understanding that younger consumers aren’t rejecting dry cleaning because they don’t need the services. They’re simply unaware of how those services fit into their lives.

“Millennials and Gen Z associate dry cleaning with formal wear, fancy clothes and luxury,” Kratz says. “But many of them are thrifting, buying secondhand, investing in quality pieces they want to last. They’re exactly the consumers who could benefit from professional garment care — they just don’t know it yet.”

Come back Tuesday for Part 2 of this series, where we’ll explore the marketing disconnect between where younger consumers say they’re influenced and where dry cleaners are actually being seen.