Frequently Asked Questions

Dry cleaning is under increasing regulatory scrutiny. Most countries in the developed world designate perchloroethylene as a “likely” human carcinogen and thus encourage the replacement of perc with alternative dry cleaning processes. Two general approaches are taken by regulators when evaluating the alternatives to perc including GreenEarth.

The first approach is to do a risk assessment whereby real-world measurements are taken in order to determine the degree to which any chemical is present in the environment. In 2012, after an 18-month independent risk assessment study conducted by the Canadian Minister of the Environment regarding the actual level of siloxane D5 in Canada’s air, water, and soil, the 83-page study concluded that based upon findings, siloxane D5 is not toxic to the environment. More recently, Australia made a similar conclusion.

The second approach is to use computer modeling to assess what danger a given chemical may pose. The European Union has been conducting an assessment of all chemicals used in the EU and is considering limiting the amount of siloxane D5 it allows to be released to the environment. Given the chemical’s broad use in shampoos, deodorants, lotions, and other “down-the-drain” applications, the computer modeling provides an argument that these applications should be limited. However, the GreenEarth process uses a closed loop system where no siloxane D5 is released to the environment so the dry cleaning application may or may not be limited.

GreenEarth Cleaning is the only alternative solvent to perform and openly report extensive testing on the environmental and safety profile of its cleaning system. Over $30 million worth of independent testing and research has been done on D5 liquid silicone to confirm that there are no risks to public safety resulting from its use in all of its many applications, including dry cleaning. GreenEarth Cleaning also underwrote an independent, comprehensive 2002 IFI Fellowship Study which compared the GreenEarth system to the industry standard perc system. The IFI declared it to be “as effective as perc with no environmental concerns”. Independent waste stream and air exposure testing confirmed that liquid silicone as used in daily dry cleaning operation exceeds all federal, state and local requirements for water and air safety.

Regulatory agency reviews of the available scientific data on D5 silicone also offer independent perspective on the health and human safety profile of the GreenEarth Cleaning process. Similar to the Illinois EPA’s 2006 assessment of D5 silicone as an alternative solvent, the California Air Resources Board (CARB), which instituted a ban of perc solvent in 2008, conducted an exhaustive 18-month review of all available data on D5 and affirmed that GreenEarth’s D5 silicone is an acceptable dry cleaning solvent alternative and based on the available exposure information, that the use of D5 in GreenEarth’s patented dry cleaning process will not pose a risk to the public living near businesses using D5. In addition, as mentioned, both Environment Canada and Environment Australia have conducted risk assessments and concluded the GreenEarth Cleaning process is not considered to be harmful to human health (2008) and the D5 is not considered harmful to the environment (2012). Ongoing testing and evaluation continues in Europe as mentioned in the previous question.

Absolutely not. This rumor dates back to 2004-2005 news coverage around the release of a voluntary two-year bioassay study commissioned by Dow Corning, a manufacturer of D5. News reporters like to create controversy, and a preliminary finding of this study allowed them to do just that. Follow-up research was conducted that determined that D5 liquid siloxane poses no risk to human health; however this research finding did not receive widespread news coverage—nor did subsequent scientific reviews by the Illinois EPA, California’s Air Resources Board (CARB), the government of Canada, the UK, and Australia. Here is what matters:

• The EPA does not recognize D5 silicone as a potential carcinogen or toxic air contaminant.
• The EPA does not regulate the use of D5 in dry cleaning or any other application.
• The California Air Resources Board conducted an extensive 18 month review of the health and safety research and ruled that use of D5 in dry cleaning does not pose an adverse health risk for the public.
• The Government of Canada conducted a thorough review of all the available D5 data and determined that D5 is not considered to be harmful to human health.
• An evaluation by the United Kingdom’s UK Environment Agency concluded that D5 is safe for the air, water and soil as well as for humans.
• More than 50 different studies on D5 demonstrate there is not a human health concern.
• D5 is one of the most extensively studied materials in consumer applications.
• D5 has been used safely for more than 40 years in many different applications.
• D5 can be shipped without any D.O.T. “hazardous materials handling” requirements.

As part of its commitment to the safe use of silicone, Dow Corning commissioned a two year Combined Chronic/Carcinogenicity Study on D5 silicone. What is important to understand is that the study was designed to test the potential effects of D5 as a chemical, not the safety of its use in the GreenEarth dry cleaning application. In the GreenEarth Cleaning process, silicone is kept inside the machine and continuously recycled using a closed loop system.

The bioassay research tested the effects of chronic inhalation of D5 at various levels of exposure for varying lengths of time, on male and female lab rats. A small but statistically significant number of female rats in the test cell exposed at the highest possible exposure level for the longest possible time developed precancerous indicators (they did not develop cancer). The rats affected in the study were the female rats exposed to the highest achievable vapor concentration of D5, 160 parts per million (ppm), six hours a day continuously for two years. By contrast, people who work in a dry cleaning plant are exposed at the lowest measurable vapor concentration of D5, less than 1 ppm on a time-weighted average during an eight-hour workday.

In order to better understand the test findings, follow up research was conducted by the Silicones Environmental, Health and Safety Council (SEHSC), the same group that conducted the original test. This research concluded that the effects observed in the original study were rat-specific and concluded that D5 does not pose a health risk to humans. This is because silicone is “read” by the female rat pituitary as dopamine, a naturally occurring chemical that can upset the balance of progesterone and estrogen and in turn lead to uterine tumors. The biological pathway that causes rats to react this way does not exist in humans, and scientific experts concluded that there is no risk to human health. This conclusion was supported by a number of scientific experts, including the Society of Toxicologists.

The safety of a food or chemical is often a matter of degree. Fluoride, salt and aspirin are all chemicals that can be toxic at high levels, but because their intended applications do not exceed safe limits, and because they provide benefits when used appropriately, we use them every day without concern.

No. And that is actually good. There is nothing green about organic dry cleaning methods. “Organic”, as it relates to chemistry, refers to anything with a carbon backbone. Gasoline and asphalt are organic. Dry cleaners who market themselves this way are purposefully misleading the consumer.

In describing dry cleaning solvents, the term biodegradable is very similar to “organic” in that it is frequently used in “green washing”. Just because a chemical biodegrades does not mean it biodegrades into non-hazardous substances.

GreenEarth is a closed loop system, it is continuously recycled within the machine. If it were to be released to the environment, because of its unique chemical and physical properties, it would safely degrade into its three natural components of sand (SiO2), water and carbon dioxide through indirect photolysis. This is true regardless of where it was deposited into the environment (e.g. air, soil or water) due to its relatively great vapor pressure and volatility, which causes it to migrate mainly into the air.

We are very committed to sustainability. Not only do we advocate technologies to lower the dry cleaner’s carbon footprint of utility consumption, we also help our Affiliates source environmentally preferrable packaging.

GreenEarth operates in a closed loop system, meaning the dry cleaning solution is continually recycled within the machine. The fluid is kept clean through use of a filtration system. Many of our Affiliates use a new cold-filtration technology that reduces utility demand (steam, electricity, water) for solvent purification by over 85% from typical dry cleaning processes. It works by substituting natural clay as a filtration medium—the impurities are adsorbed by the clay medium—eliminating the requirement for constant distillation and the associated energy needed to boil the fluid and then return the vapor back into a liquid.

Plastic bags are a serious environmental concern—they take up space in landfills, threaten wildlife, and can last for hundreds of years. We offer our Affiliates access to oxo-degradable poly bags distributed by First Films in the U.S. The EcoMax degradable bags look and feel just like regular plastic bags but have a special composition that allows them to break down naturally within just two years. To maximize the environmental benefit of all oxo-degradable plastics, they should be recycled instead of thrown away.

Wire hangers may not get as much publicity as plastic, but they are also an environmental problem. Every year, Americans throw away 3.5 billion wire hangers and 5 billion plastic hangers. An excellent alternative is the cardboard EcoHanger®, made from 100% recycled paper and plastic. EcoHangers are manufactured in the U.S. in EPA-regulated factories and are 100% recyclable.

Liquid silicones are used in hundreds of products, including sealants, adhesives, masonry water repellents, paint additives, antifoaming agents, baby bottles, longer-lasting tires, marine coatings, bakeware, and of course, dry cleaning fluid.  In a study performed by the sustainable development research firm Denkstatt in Austria, it was determined that the greenhouse gas emissions produced during the manufacture of silicones were 9 times less than the amount of greenhouse gases that would have been generated if silicones were not available for use in the products mentioned.

CO2 and 100% wet cleaning have both recognized by regulators as very good choices environmentally, but less than one-third of one percent of dry cleaners utilize them. The problem for dry cleaners is that it is very difficult to make a living operating with either system exclusively. CO2 machines have proven so expensive to operate with they are no longer in production. Professional wet cleaning requires more labor to produce and finish garments than traditional dry cleaning, and dry cleaners are reluctant to process with it exclusively. We consider professional wet cleaning to be an excellent, environmentally non-toxic compliment to the GreenEarth dry cleaning method in any shop and encourage operators to utilize both methods.

Hydrocarbon solvent has been popular as an alternative because it is affordable and petroleum-based, so the industry is familiar with it. The concern about hydrocarbon today is that it is not as “green” as some people thought originally. While certainly a big improvement over perc, hydrocarbon is classified as a volatile organic compound (VOC), and is a likely contributor to smog formation. It is not approved as a SNAP material and would likely require clean up if spilled. Like perc, hydrocarbon is also listed by the EPA as a neurotoxin and skin and eye irritant for workers. Further, many hydrocarbon-based solvents on the market today are a blend of hydrocarbon with another solvent(s). This introduces the problems associated with operating with chemical blends rather than a pure chemical, i.e., the need to add various stabilizers, deodorizers, and the hazard associated with fluctuating flash points as the blended solvents are distilled versus the stable higher flash point of GreenEarth’s 100% pure D5 siloxane. On the plus side, most machines designed to use hydrocarbon solvent are also designed to use GreenEarth solution, so operators can convert from hydrocarbon to GreenEarth without purchasing a new machine.

No. GreenEarth solution has different chemical properties than perc, so it interacts differently with detergents, additives and fabrics. When GreenEarth was first introduced, the process was unfamiliar, detergency had not yet been optimized to work with it, and cleaning results did vary. Water-soluble stains were a particular problem. With proper training on how to process garments in GreenEarth, and the advent of second, third and even fourth generation detergent additives developed with the help of industry partners, cleaning results, including removal of water-soluble stains, are consistently excellent. An independent evaluation of alternative solvents by the IFI in 2007 rated GreenEarth as “excellent” in the categories of cleaning and ability to handle a variety of fabrics and trims.

Yes. GreenEarth’s non-toxic, non-hazardous rating means no environmental liability issues for your landlord. This allows our GreenEarth cleaners to renew leases at current locations and obtain leases at locations that previously wouldn’t allow dry cleaners on their premises. Several large publicly traded shopping center owners and managers (the largest example being Kimco) have pre-approved GreenEarth for all of its locations and require their dry cleaning tenants to be members of the GreenEarth Network.

The GreenEarth Network is a subscription-based licensed network that charges an annual membership fee to belong. Like all subscription programs, their Members are provided with certain advantages not available to non-members. Over it’s 20+ year history, GreenEarth has developed the most sustainable process of dry cleaning and has added features and benefits available to its GreenEarth users. These benefits include the ability to use GreenEarth’s brand, copyrighted training and marketing materials, GreenEarth’s branded products including its 100% pure liquid D5 siloxane dry cleaning fluid, detergent, pre washing agent, and cold filtration natural activated clay, and the know how involved to optimize the use of your dry cleaning equipment and branded products. The Member fee also includes a listing on the GreenEarth Worldwide Store Locator and free access to the members-Only portion of our website, GreenEarth Marketport, which includes our marketing library of materials and our store training videos. As with all Member-based programs, the benefits of being a Member have to outweigh the cost of Membership. We believe your returns from being a GreenEarth Member will come back to you several times over in operating savings along with increased visibility and sales.

Down. GreenEarth is gentler, with a much softer fabric hand and fewer wrinkles, so finishing and special handling costs will go down along with your claims for damaged articles. More importantly, the use of GreenEarth’s proprietary activated clay cold filtration method coupled with reduced or no distillation will yield lower energy and supply costs. Additionally, when using this method of filtration, many GreenEarth cleaners have been able to qualify for non-hazardous waste disposal including dumping the resulting solid filter waste into their municipal trash. And finally, given its environmental profile, there is no need for environmental property insurance.

Some Affiliates have reported initial increases in sales as high as 50-70%. While results like this are not the norm, Affiliates who routinely market their difference report increases in net sales in the 10-25% range.

GreenEarth Cleaning was formed in 1999 for the express purpose of providing our industry with a better alternative to perc. Over the years, this goal widened to providing our industry with the most sustainable dry cleaning process possible. Given this goal, we have approved the use of a specific machine configuration that utilizes activated clay filtration rather than cartridge filtration and the reduction or complete elimination of distillation. In order to allow this machine configuration to operate in the most sustainable way possible, GreenEarth has commissioned the formulation of a concentrated detergent and pre washing agent so that our Members can produce first class results using mush less supplies. Our Sustain detergent, Prime pre brushing agent, and GEC Activated Clay are all GreenEarth branded, and when used with our GreenEarth 100% pure siloxane D5 dry cleaning fluid, assure our Members of being able to achieve our overall goal of providing the most sustainable process of dry cleaning.

The first step will be to request an information booklet, either by phone (toll-free 877-926-0895) or online. Next you will want to learn about any local regulations you would need to comply with and assess your equipment and supply needs. GreenEarth has done extensive testing and has pre-approved a number of different machines, detergents and spotting agents, to make selection of a quality system easier. The next step is to talk. We won’t be happy, and neither will you, if we don’t share the same values and commitment to operational excellence. Partnering with like-minded business owners who put customers, quality and environmental responsibility first helps protect your investment and ours. We can also discuss licensing options in your territory. The final step is to sign a letter of understanding, making your official membership application official. Once you join as an Affiliate, you will receive a membership kit and we will begin working with you to make sure your installation and conversion go smoothly.

In addition to the right to use GreenEarth’s patented process and trademarks, your license fee entitles you to ongoing operational, technical and marketing support. The marketing advantages of GreenEarth include a wide range of professionally developed, customizable marketing materials, access to top quality direct mail fulfillment services, a website that builds a quality image and a “find a store” feature that directs customers to Affiliate store locations 24/7. As a GreenEarth Affiliate, you will also be part of a worldwide network of quality cleaners who share information, ideas and best practices.

GreenEarth’s Activated Clay allows our Members to use cold filtration rather than cartridge filtration and thereby changes the nature of the waste produced. The waste from our Activated Clay Filtration process is a solid rather than a metal cartridge containing liquid solvent within its core. As a result, many of our GreenEarth Members have applied for and qualified for disposing of their non-hazardous waste as regular trash. This represents a significant saving from having to dispose of liquid waste and/or cartridge filters, both of which require an expensive, hazardous waste method of disposal.

All waste should be handled according to the regulations of your local municipality.  However, because the waste generated in GreenEarth’s patented cold filtration method is a solid/powder rather than a liquid and because laboratory testing has shown the waste to contain no hazardous materials, many municipalities allow our GreenEarth cleaners to dispose of their filtration waste as normal trash.