You may have noticed that on Pico Cleaner’s front page, we say that our cleaning services are certified green by Greenopia and GreenEarth Cleaning.
But what does this mean exactly? Who or what is GreenEarth Cleaning? And what do they have to do with Pico Cleaners?
Let’s find out.
GreenEarth Cleaning
GreenEarth Cleaning formed in 1998 and currently serves over 40 countries. The company’s goal is to clean clothes without doing any harm by providing the best possible fabric care while also achieving the least environmental impact, including using the least amount of energy and water and by eliminating hazardous materials.
One of these hazardous materials is perchloroethlyne, or perc, a solvent that is often used by dry cleaners. Perc can lead to dizziness, headaches, fatigue, skin and eye irritation and more.
However, GreenEarth Cleaning has found a safer alternative.
Liquid Silicone
GreenEarth Cleaning’s alternative dry cleaning solution is a liquid silicone that is environmentally non-toxic and nonhazardous, odorless and colorless, non-allergenic and non-irritating and overall better for cleaning clothes. The solution is 100 pure decamethylpentacyclosiloxane, or D5, meaning there are no added solvents.
The liquid silicone has low surface tension and is lightweight, which allows the solution to better penetrate the fabric and clean it more gently, which in turn makes the garment last longer. It is also chemically inert, meaning it doesn’t chemically react with the textile fabrics or dyes. This preserves the garment’s quality by helping to prevent shrinkage and eliminate color loss.
The liquid silicone is formulated to degrade into sand, or Si02, water and carbon so it won’t harm the air, soil or water. It isn’t classified as a volatile organic compound and doesn’t contribute to smog. According to GreenEarth Cleaning, over 50 studies have shown that there is no human health concern when it comes to their liquid silicone solution. It is so safe that EPA doesn’t regulate its use.
The Process
Creating an alternative to perc wasn’t the end for GreenEarth Cleaning. They evolved to provide the patented sustainable cleaning process to licensed partners and stakeholders, including Pico Cleaners. Their process includes patents, trademarks and training and operation instructions so any customer will receive the best possible outcome.
They use a closed-loop system, meaning the liquid silicone solution never leaves the machine; it is continuously recycled and is kept clean through a filtration system.
To this day, GreenEarth Cleaning has cleaned over 600 million pounds of garments while providing the best care for the environment. This makes them the world’s largest brand of environmentally friendly dry cleaning.
So if you want to help the environment and utilize a better way to clean your clothes that will also help them last longer, stop by Pico Cleaners today!
