How the POV of Fashion Brands on Sustainable Textile Care Has Evolved
May 15, 2024
2025 marks 20 years in the dry cleaning industry for me, during my time there has always been a link to GreenEarth Cleaning. I started working for one of our largest Affiliates, Johnson Cleaners, in 2005 as they had just completed a successful trial of GreenEarth’s pure liquid silicone solvent in Scotland U.K. A responsibility within my role involved overseeing the marketing and communications components of the complete conversion across the then 300 stores.
Fast forward 10 years, and I was delighted to join the GreenEarth Cleaning team as Sustainability Director, bringing the company’s story to life with a brand-new audience, the textile manufacturing and retail sector. 20 years ago, the narrative was more about dealing with global legislative change, with a dash of solving problem garment issues. While this is still an important consideration, the story has become so much more than that. From complete fabric testing through to a recommendation on the care label, there were a handful of brands and manufacturers that I would work with during my time at Johnsons. This tended to be for problem garments only, and that’s as far as communication to customers and colleagues would go.
Within a few years momentum started to build. However, when the economic crisis of 2007-09 hit, some brands paused their GreenEarth journey as they wanted to “Focus on the business” – now, sustainability IS business. I’m pleased to say that those brands have since resumed their partnership with GreenEarth. When the Covid pandemic hit in 2020, brands took time to prioritise their operational processes due to furlough and hybrid working Eventually and relatively quickly, they continued their GreenEarth Affiliate recommendation projects. This demonstrates how sustainability has become an integral component in business strategies over the past decade.
The years of actively working with manufacturers and retailers, has culminated in very positive growth of partners recommending GreenEarth Cleaning as a preferred form of garment aftercare. Particularly, the technical visits to Johnson Cleaners, have allowed us to engage with stakeholders, demonstrating the power of our pure liquid silicone in action.
The first quarter of 2024 has been our most successful to date. With brands eagerly promoting their sustainability initiatives, we’ve secured more recommendations than forecasted. The cross-promotion between brands and GreenEarth has increased consumer awareness resulting in more pieces coming over the counters of our wonderful global Affiliate network.
If you’d like to find out more about our mission or join the GreenEarth movement, please get in contact today!
Author: Garry Knox
Fast forward 10 years, and I was delighted to join the GreenEarth Cleaning team as Sustainability Director, bringing the company’s story to life with a brand-new audience, the textile manufacturing and retail sector. 20 years ago, the narrative was more about dealing with global legislative change, with a dash of solving problem garment issues. While this is still an important consideration, the story has become so much more than that. From complete fabric testing through to a recommendation on the care label, there were a handful of brands and manufacturers that I would work with during my time at Johnsons. This tended to be for problem garments only, and that’s as far as communication to customers and colleagues would go.
Within a few years momentum started to build. However, when the economic crisis of 2007-09 hit, some brands paused their GreenEarth journey as they wanted to “Focus on the business” – now, sustainability IS business. I’m pleased to say that those brands have since resumed their partnership with GreenEarth. When the Covid pandemic hit in 2020, brands took time to prioritise their operational processes due to furlough and hybrid working Eventually and relatively quickly, they continued their GreenEarth Affiliate recommendation projects. This demonstrates how sustainability has become an integral component in business strategies over the past decade.
The years of actively working with manufacturers and retailers, has culminated in very positive growth of partners recommending GreenEarth Cleaning as a preferred form of garment aftercare. Particularly, the technical visits to Johnson Cleaners, have allowed us to engage with stakeholders, demonstrating the power of our pure liquid silicone in action.
The first quarter of 2024 has been our most successful to date. With brands eagerly promoting their sustainability initiatives, we’ve secured more recommendations than forecasted. The cross-promotion between brands and GreenEarth has increased consumer awareness resulting in more pieces coming over the counters of our wonderful global Affiliate network.
If you’d like to find out more about our mission or join the GreenEarth movement, please get in contact today!
Author: Garry Knox