NEW YORK — The National Cleaners Association (NCA) has introduced the Green Cleaners Council and its rating system, which are designed to indicate a drycleaner’s commitment to environmental sustainability and promote those efforts to the public.
“Being a good environmental citizen and a good drycleaner go far beyond what kind of solvent a cleaner uses,” says Ann Hargrove, NCA’s director of special projects. “We felt it was time to highlight all areas of environmental sustainability and to give consumers a way to judge how genuine and wide-reaching a cleaner’s commitment to a greener world was.
“This program not only gives a cleaner’s ‘green’ claims authenticity, but gives them something to strive for and allows them to step into the green market with a much-needed third-party endorsement of what they are doing.”
The Green Cleaners Council is launching a website as part of a public-relations strategy designed not only to explain the program and the rating system, but also identify the greenest cleaners and link to their websites. The council’s site features a blog that encourages consumers and cleaners to explore drycleaners’ green initiatives, and serves as a resource for media outlets interested in pursuing stories about environmental sustainability in professional cleaning, NCA says.
“We believe this will help bring transparency to the many environmental issues surrounding our industry and [allow] cleaners who are undertaking green initiatives to promote their services and differentiate themselves in the market,” Hargrove says. “It’s time customers had a place to go to get all of the details about our green challenges and victories, without hype and half-truths. This certification is an important step for the industry.”
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