SAN FRANCISCO — America’s Best Cleaners (ABC) has partnered with the European Research Association for Innovative Textile Care (EFIT) of Stuttgart, Germany, which certifies European drycleaners under its FashionCare label. Both ABC and EFIT are affiliated with the Hohenstein Institutes of Germany.
ABC certifies, educates and promotes couture-level drycleaners in the United States. It has certified more than 50 drycleaners that meet its strict and independent standards, and now the FashionCare certification will be incorporated into the ABC certification. FashionCare also provides a stand-alone certification for drycleaners in the United States and Canadian markets.
EFIT boasts membership in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Holland, Denmark, and a number of other countries. With the United States and Canada added to that list, the partnership with ABC creates the largest affiliation of certified garment-care providers in the world, ABC says.
“Our organization was impressed with the criteria and standards promoted by America’s Best Cleaners, and we look forward to a long and beneficial relationship,” says Jasmin Qaud, EFIT’s marketing director. “It was a natural and logical decision to partner with ABC, the premier certifying organization in the U.S.”
Europe’s elite fashion houses are working with FashionCare to offer support in case of customer claims, ordering replacement garments in case of damage or loss, and ordering trimmings and accessories, ABC says.
As part of its educational syllabus and relationship building, ABC has toured the Brioni factory in Abruzzo, Italy; the Zegna and Barberis mills in Biella, Italy; the Hermés store and family museum in Paris; the Hugo Boss factories in Metzigen, Germany, and Cleveland, Ohio; the Swarovski factory in Watten, Austria; the Ferragamo museum in Florence, Italy; the Bogner factory in Heimstetten, Germany; and others, and plans to incorporate these relationships into supporting FashionCare-certified affiliates worldwide.
In addition, EFIT’s FashionCare recently won a $10,000 public-relations grant from European textile-care association CINET at the Clean Show in New Orleans. CINET will organize PR activities in support of the FashionCare initiative through 2010.
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