Laurel, Md. — The Drycleaning & Laundry Institute announced it is introducing the Seal of Approval program this year as an update to its Award of Excellence (AOE) voluntary certification.
The program is designed to establish and enforce high standards of operation, quality and service, and communicate that commitment to consumers. AOE membership and the Seal of Approval help differentiate responsible companies and highlight their achievement in quality garment care and customer service, DLI says.
“Our goal is to make the Seal of Approval a household name in households that likely to desire top-level cleaning and customer service,” says Bill Fisher, the association’s CEO.
Members in the program must meet a stringent set of requirements set as best practices within the drycleaning industry. DLI decided on a Seal of Approval modeled after that of the Good Housekeeping Institute, which offers a seemingly independent endorsement of quality and service.
Seals of Approval are popular in many industries and have been shown to provide enhanced value to products bearing them. “Consumers are likely to believe that a business maintains a higher standard when that business participates in a seal-of-approval program,” according to a 2002 study from the University of Washington.
“Approval Seals and Awards of Excellence are designed to give prospective patrons a sense of trust, safety and confidence that a business displaying a seal and conforming to the associated standards is a business worth patronizing,” says DLI chairman Rick Kasperbauer.
“Trust has always been a necessary ingredient for commerce to thrive,” Kasperbauer adds. “And it’s equally necessary today—perhaps even more so. Research shows trust is the key to boosting sales.”
Representing more than 10,000 retail drycleaning facilities in the U.S., DLI is one of the world’s leading professional garment-care organizations. For more information on the Seal of Approval program, visit www.ifi.org or call 800-638-2627.
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