A revision to the Care Labeling Rule that could have drastically reduced the number of garments with "Dryclean" labels was rejected by the Federal Trade Commission after more than four years of consideration.
The proposal, which would have required care labels with washing instructions on any garment that could be washed, was part of package that the FTC put out for comment in late 1995. Also under consideration, and also rejected, was a "Wetclean" care label.
Two other parts of the package, one which updates the water temperature definitions in the Care Labeling rule and another that clarifies the rule's "reasonable basis" standard, were approved.
It was the two rejected proposals that drew the most interest and comments from the drycleaning industry. Requiring wash instructions on all garments that could be washed at home would have seriously impacted the volume of garments drycleaners see in their plants," the International Fabricare Institute said in a press release, cheering the FTC's rejection of the proposal.
"The drycleaning industry can breathe easier today after news of the FTC's decision not to impose mandatory home washing instructions on care labels," IFI said in a press release applauding the commission's decision.
IFI, other industry trade groups and some individual cleaners were joined by the American Apparel Manufacturers Association in opposing the rule. Supporters included EPA, environmental groups, consumer advocacy groups and makers of home laundry products.
Proponents of the change said it would help reduce the use of drycleaning solvents and let consumers save money on garment care.
In rejecting the proposal, the FTC noted that the use of perc has been reduced already. (Since 1995 alone, when the rule was first introduced, perc use in the United States declined from 108 million pounds to 63 million pounds, a drop of more than 40 percent, according to a recent survey.)
Further, the FTC said, it was not clear that a change in the rule would change consumer behavior sufficiently to either reduce the use of perc or save consumers money on cleaning their garments.
In arguing against the rule, the AAMA, the apparel manufacturers' trade group, said that "Responsible apparel firms label their garment according to what they believe to be the best method of cleaning."
AAMA also said it could be difficult to find a working definition of home washing. "A mandatory home wash standard suggests that a garment must fail every conceivable home care method before the label can warn against home care."
Would a garment be considered to be home washable "if it can withstand a certain number of home wash cycles even through it can withstand a greater number of dryclean cycles?" AAMA asked.
Manufacturers would stand to lose revenues and customers because of high garment return rates for garments labeled for home washing when they should "ideally be drycleaned" and because of "consumer anger at prematurely worn-out clothes," AAMA added.
While AAMA and FTC sided with IFI and other drycleaning groups on the mandatory washing label, they parted ways on a proposal supported by the drycleaning industry to include all appropriate methods of care on the label and let the consumer choose from them.
"This proposal would have the advantage of maximizing the information and options provided to consumers," FTC agreed. But the commission rejected it as "potentially costly and burdensome to manufacturers."
The "evolving list of cleaning technologies" would make it especially difficult, FTC said, since garment makers would have to test for each one.
"The rapidly changing nature of the garment care industry suggests that the commission should not intervene with a regulatory change that might in the future prove to be inadequate or inappropriate," FTC said.
The wetclean label
Changing garment care technology was also a part of the FTC's consideration of a wetcleaning care label. This proposal, too, was supported by EPA and environmentalists as well as by members of the cleaning industry who have been trying to encourage the growth and development of wetcleaning.
After reviewing the issue, both through written comments and in public workshops, the commission concluded that "there is not one, clearly defined process performed by those who do professional wetcleaning" and that further work is needed to define wetcleaning before garment makers can be asked to specify it as a cleaning process on care label.
Both the American Association of Textile Colorists and Chemists and the American society of Testing Materials have been working on test methods and definitions for professional wetcleaning, but FTC said "it would be premature at this time to amend the rule to allow a "Professionally Wetclean" instruction.
"In recommending a particular cleaning method, manufacturers must have assurance that the method they are recommending -- and for which they have established a reasonable basis -- is the same method that the cleaner actually would use to clean the garment labeled for that method," FTC said.
"Some level of standardization is necessary before a Professionally Wetclean Instruction can be placed on garments," the FTC said, but added that progress has been slow on developing a definition and test procedure.
"It appears unlikely that a final test procedure will be established in the near future," the FTC concluded. The commission left the door open to reconsidering a wetcleaning care label, but for now it is off the table.
How about CO2?
During the period that the wetcleaning rule was on the FTC's table, other new cleaning technologies also arose and, while they were not specifically a part of the rule-making, FTC responded to commenters who wanted the new methods included, too.
In particular, FTC addressed liquid carbon dioxide and home-care products such as "Dryel."
The first liquid carbon dioxide plant in the United States opened in 1999 and FTC said it has been urged by EPA "to begin the process to develop a standard definition and test protocol and eventually a Liquid Carbon Dioxide Process care label instruction requirement."
The FTC demurred, however, saying it is "not within its mandate to try to create demand for new technologies that might be environmentally desirable; nor does the commission have the expertise necessary to evaluate the environmental effects of such new technologies."
The commission said it "will consider amending the rule to recognize a new technology for care label purposes when there is a standard definition of that technology, so that manufacturers can give an instruction of 'Method X' with assurance that the 'Method X' they are describing is the same 'Method X' that cleaners who attempt to clean their garment are using."
The standardization of a new technology "must, to a large extent, occur within the industry that is offering the new technology to the public," FTC added.
A Dryel label?
Procter & Gamble, makers of Dryel, had recommended that the care label rule be modified to allow manufacturers to include an optional "home fabric care instruction."
But the commission declined to consider a "Dryel" care label "at this time."
"The product can be offered to consumers regardless of whether instructions for it use appear on garment care labels.
Indeed, if garment manufacturers wish to recommend the use of this type of product on their garments, they are free to do so as long as they have a reasonable basis for whatever recommendations they give consumers."
A "Professionally Clean" care label?
On another issue, FTC was asked by the Center for Neighborhood Technology to consider a "Professionally Clean" care label that would encompass both wetcleaning and drycleaning and leave the choice to the cleaner.
In response, FTC said the current rule refers to one method of professional cleaning -- dry-cleaning -- and requires the manufacturer to give warnings if the normal drycleaning process must be modified to prevent damage to the garment.
A "Professionally Clean" label would absolve the manufacturer of that responsibility, but would require manufacturers to warn if certain solvents could not be used. But whether a solvent can be used might depend on whether warnings, such as "short cycle," are provided, FTC noted.
The manufacturer, who has chosen all the components of a garment, is better suited than the drycleaner to determine the proper care of a given item, FTC said.
Changes approved
The two less controversial changes in the rule approved by the FTC clarify the reasonable basis updates water temperature definitions to conform with current industry standards.
The reasonable basis standard now will apply to the garment in its entirety rather than to individual components only.
For example, evidence showing that each different part of the garment could be cleaned by the method stated on the label would not constitute a reasonable basis if, in fact, one part bleeds onto another when the garment as a whole is cleaned by that method.
IFI said it supports this change, but would like to see the reasonable basis requirements strengthened to require testing of a garment before its care label is written.
Currently, IFI said, "reasonable basis" may be based on any one of the following: tests, current technical literature, past experience or industry expertise.
"In other words, testing the garment for care information is not automatically required," IFI said, "Unless it is, garments will continue to be damaged due to improper care labels."
"We're pleased with the FTC's decision not to move toward mandatory home washing labels," said Mary Scalco, IFI assistant general manager
"We also were a big proponent of strengthening the reasonable basis standard. The FTC's clarification didn't go as far as we wanted, but it goes further than what it did," she added.
The updated definitions of water temperatures make bring the terms used by AATCC for "cold," "hot," and "warm" water.
The commission vote on the rule amendments was 5-0.
With a dozen states having adopted drycleaning site clean-up legislation in the past few years, the question now is: How are they working?
Assessing the those programs is the goal of two separate groups that are giving representatives from those states a chance to come together and discuss their respective programs.
The first such group was formed with the support of the EPA Technology Innovation Office and consists mainly of people who serve in an official capacity with state environmental agencies. Calling itself the State Coalition for Drycleaner Remediation (SCRD), the group provides a forum for exchanging information about existing programs and providing advice to states without drycleaner-specific programs.
The second group is getting together under the auspices of the International Fabricare Institute with membership comprised mainly of drycleaners and trade association executives from states that have clean-up programs, along with members of the allied trades. IFI plans to hold a summit meeting on state cleanup funds, probably in October. Mary Scalco, assistant general manager of IFI, said about two dozen people had expressed interest in participating as of mid-August.
The industry group was formed in part because of the ongoing work of the government-oriented group, Scalco said. At some point, she said, the two groups may meet together, but the plan is to meet separately initially.
But the main purpose of both groups is to try to sort out and evaluate the patchwork collection of programs that have arisen in the past six years. The move to create state programs began after efforts to enact federal legislation that proposed a combination of solvent surcharges, site fees and environmental housekeeping requirements collapsed in the mid-1990s.
The state programs borrow heavily from that federal proposal, and all have the goal of providing financial relief to drycleaners faced with cleaning up contaminated sites. But each state has its own variations. Some rely heavily on solvent surcharges; others rely more on a gross receipts tax.
Per-site fees are used by most and the type and amount of financial assistance and liability protection varies greatly. Some require that drycleaners be certified. Others have insurance requirements.
Florida and Connecticut were the first states to adopt programs, in 1994. Other states to add their own since then include Oregon, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Wisconsin. The most recent additions to the list, Alabama and Missouri, passed laws this year to establish programs.
It has not been smooth sailing since the laws were passed. North and South Carolina both passed revisions to their laws this year. Wisconsin has been fine tuning its law since it was first passed in 1997.
And in Oregon, the perc surcharge has topped $20 a gallon, much to the chagrin of many drycleaners and also raising concern among those charged with implementing the program. An attempt to retool the funding mechanism is under discussion there.
A big problem for most states has been that the programs, no matter how they are funded, have not generated the amount of revenue that was anticipated. According to an SCRD report, most programs have generated revenues that range from 60 to 70 percent of the initial projections.
Relying on solvent fees, the SCRD report noted, provides an incentive for drycleaning to use solvent efficiently, but it also results in unstable funding as the use of solvent continues to decrease. While that makes for indirect environmental benefit, SCRD is looking for ways to establish stable sources of funding that distribute the costs fairly.
Another of SCRD's goals is to encourage the use of innovative technologies in site remediation.
"Our member states are trying new technologies designed to rapidly break down drycleaner solvent to reduce the mass of solvents remaining in the soil and ground water," SCRD said.
Information on those technologies and the program in general, is available on the SCRD web site: www.clu-in.org/programs/dryclean.
Two recently released SCRD reports, "Study of Assessment and Remediation Technologies for Drycleaner Sites," and "State Programs to Clean Up Drycleaners" are available on the web site.
Industry members interested in participating in the summit on state cleanup program being organized by IFI should contact Scalco, (301) 638-2627, ext. 131.
State associations are striving to improve the public's perception concerning drycleaners.
Both the Minnesota Cleaners Association and the Wisconsin Fabricare Institute have worked on PR campaigns designed to bring more business in for their members while placing a positive spin on the industry.
At MCA's convention last February, the association kicked off its Image 2000 campaign that utilizes such slogans as "We help you look good" and "We keep you looking good." Meanwhile, WFI has plans for a 12-week print ad campaign that will begin after Sept. 15.
MCA's Image 2000 program, designed to promote the drycleaning industry in the state of Minnesota, focuses on utilizing print media, radio, billboards and television.
The association's objectives include: demonstrating that drycleaning benefits customers by saving them time and making them feel good because they look good; promoting that drycleaning is an affordable necessity that preserves a consumer's investment in clothing; showing that drycleaners are efficient, environmentally safe and technologically up-to-date; and enabling the drycleaning industry to effectively compete with "home drycleaning" products.
So far, MCA has focused on the medium of television and will concentrate on the other media in the future. To date, the association has run two separate television ad campaigns that have reached a wide variety of television viewers.
Most recently, MCA ran its commercial in May on KARE 11 in the Twin Cities where it reached 2.66 million households in its week-long run.
The commercial features two men in an elevator wearing suits for job interviews. One man's attire has a polished look with perfect creases and smooth lines; the other man wears a less impressive suit that hasn't been drycleaned.
A narrator says, "When you want to look your best, your affordable and convenient drycleaner makes you look good and feel great. Professional drycleaning saves you time. Why gamble when you could have a sure thing?"
Eric Ewald, executive director of MCA, is proud of MCA's efforts. "We have reached millions," he pointed out. "We have had a real good core of dedicated contributors that is making it all possible."
Image 2000 relies on voluntary contributions from drycleaners. When cleaners receive an invoice from their supplier, they pay the amount of the bill and have the option of writing a second check to the MCA Industry Fund for two percent of the cost of the total supplies invoice.
This contribution should be based only on actual supplies and should not include taxes, fees or freight charges.
If a supplier is participating in the program, both checks can mailed directly to them. The supplier will match the donation supplied by the cleaner and will pass along both donations to MCA.
So, an invoice for $100 worth of supplies would result in a $4 donation ($2 provided by the cleaner and $2 matched by the participating supplier).
According to Ewald, the challenge of the future lies in expanding the base of contributing cleaners. "If everybody in the state contributed, we could really have an impact. Even if 75 percent contributed, the results would be absolutely magical."
For information on MCA's program, call the association at (651) 290-2266.
WFI launches print effort
The Wisconsin Fabricare Institute has plans for a print ad campaign that will place two alternating advertisements in the front news section of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Sunday edition.
"We're going to run a 12-week campaign -- six weeks in the fall and six weeks in early spring -- during drycleaners' busy season," said Joe Phillips, executive director of WFI.
One ad features a distraught lady under the heading, "Had a disaster with so-called 'home drycleaning' kits?"
The body of the copy reads: "So the plastic bag didn't clean your garments. If anybody can fix it, we can."
The advertisement also points out that professional cleaners are superior to home kits because they deliver expert stain removal, thorough cleaning and professional pressing.
Costs for running the advertisements are anticipated to be around $20,000. The association has already raised over $4,000.
The WFI board of directors supports the campaign. Two board members have contributed $1,000 and $500 respectively, and others plan to contribute financially, as well.
More contributions are expected from members at upcoming WFI events, including the association's convention Sept. 15-17. All profits from the event will go toward the campaign.
"We're optimistic," added Phillips. "We're hoping to raise somewhere between $12,000 and $15,000 from members."
In addition to the print ad project, WFI also purchased 6,000 brochures on the perils of home drycleaning kits published by the International Fabricare Institute. WFI hopes members will purchase the brochures and pass them along to their customers.
Home drycleaning kits have been a growing concern for the drycleaning industry. "We've seen a pretty intense campaign on TV by Dryel," stated Phillips, who in the July-August edition of WFI's Impressions noted: "We don't have the kind of bucks that Procter & Gamble have, but we're forging ahead nonetheless and we think we've chosen the right vehicle whereby all our cleaner members in the state will stand to benefit."
Phillips also added, "Dryel and products like it are a sham, and yet, through slick TV advertising, they've hoodwinked all too many consumers."
For more information about WFI's print ad campaign, contact the association at (414) 529-4707.
Exhibit sales for Clean '01 are already exceeding the space sales recorded at the same point in the selling period two years ago for Clean '99.
"What this indicates is that people looking for new equipment, supplies, services and industry information will have an outstanding selection of products to see at Clean '01," said John H. Riddle, president of the show's management company since 1992, Riddle & Associates.
The show, which will be held in New Orleans from July 19-22, 2001, has already contracted more than 160,000 net square feet of exhibit space, making it the largest textile care trade show in the world and one of the top 100 trade shows in all of North America.
At Clean '99 in Orlando there were 612 exhibiting companies filling up over 281,000 net square feet of exhibit space. Over 2,700 people attended the event, including laundry owners, plant operators, technicians, institutional laundry managers, distributors, consultants and buyers.
The international biennial event has grown by nearly 100,000 feet since 1991, and attracts representatives from 85 countries outside the U.S.
In addition to the variety of exhibits, Clean '01 will offer more than 40 hours of educational seminars that will focus on everything from business management to technology to legislative issues in the industry.
"We encourage everyone in the textile care industry to take advantage of this biennial opportunity to see first-hand and compare the many products available to them, and to benefit from the educational sessions offered by the show's sponsors," added Riddle.
The Clean Show is a joint effort made possible by six national industry associations, including: the International Fabricare Institute, the Coin Laundry Association, the National Association of Institutional Linen Management, the Textile Care Allied Trades Association, the Textile Rental Services Association of America and the Uniform & Textile Service Association.
The first Clean Show dates back to 1977 in Chicago. Exhibitors requested a joint effort to reduce the financial burden of participating in an increasing number of smaller shows.
For more information about Clean '01, contact Riddle & Associates at Suite 360-C, 1874 Piedmont Road, Atlanta GA 30324. The company can also be contacted by phone (404) 876-1988 or e-mail: info@cleanshow.com .
A new web site located at www.cleanshow.com is expected to be launched soon.
Home cleaning kits may be the wake up call cleaners need, according to Dan Eisen, chief garment analyst for the Neighborhood Cleaners Association-International.
Facing a growing list of products that tell consumers they can care for their dryclean-only garments at home, cleaners have called NCA-I asking what the association can do about it, Eisen wrote in NCA-I's September publication.
The question, he said, is what are you going to do about it?
Ask yourself these questions:
If your answer is yes to any of them above, you are leaving the door open to home cleaning "solutions."
"A truly educated drycleaner can remove 95 percent of all stains and return to the consumer a properly pressed, bright and beautifully packaged garment," Eisen said. "I don't think any home cleaning kit can compare with this.
Drycleaners are not alone in feeling competitive pressure to hold down or even lower prices. Tommy Hilfiger has the same problem.
In July, Tommy Hilfiger Corp., reported a 75 percent drop in first quarter earnings and a 4.6 decline in revenues from the same period a year ago. Joel Horowitz, CEO of the company, blamed the declines in part on "the promotional retail climate that has existed since last fall."
"Deep markdowns," he told Women's Wear Daily, "were necessary to clear inventory."
Net income for the quarter was $9.7 million compared to $38.7 million for the comparable period a year ago. Revenues for the quarter were $399.9 million, down from $419.1 million.
Horowitz noted a drop of nearly 20 percent in sales of Hilfiger's women's lines. On the men's wear side, whole sales were down 17.2 percent.
The promotional retail climate that started last fall and continued into the summer forced the company to take substantial markdowns to clear inventory and to selectively take returns to help clear the selling floor, Horowitz said.
Still, he noted, "the consumer does pay regular price when she finds what she wants."
Horowitz said the company is working "to improve our product design and assortments" and expects better results for the next quarter and the first half.
Early signs for fall and the holiday season are encouraging, Horowitz said, but analysts believe it will take several quarters to get the company back on track. For the fiscal year that ended in March, 1999, Hilfiger reported sales of $1.64 billion and earnings of $185.6 million.
The International Fabricare Institute is asking members to help set the course of the association's activities on the legislative and regulatory front by participating in a survey on key issues.
The "ballot" was published in the July-August issue of IFI's Fabricare magazine. Responses are due by Sept. 15.
In addition to four key issues highlighted by IFI, members are asked to list the five national issues that will have a direct impact on their business and where legislative or regulatory action is needed.
IFI commentaries on the four key issues in the survey are summarized as follows:
OSHA ergonomics
OSHA's proposal for an ergonomics program would require employers covered by the new standard to set up an ergonomics program to address the risk of work related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). OSHA believes that MSDs constitute the largest job-related injury and illness problem in the United States.
Supporters say that work-related MSDs are prevalent throughout industry and workers should be protected through ergonomics programs. In particular, workers in manufacturing production, manual handling and similar jobs experience MSDs because they are subject to tasks that are repetitive and require forceful exertion, vibration or awkward movements.
Opponents say that OSHA's proposal is too vague, broadly inclusive and would be a financial burden on small business, and that there is not enough evidence that the standard would relieve MSDs in the workplace.
Since the ergonomics standard can be triggered by just one reportable MSDs, all jobs, in effect would be covered whether or not the injury occurred in the workplace. Also, opponents say, the worker removal protection appears to overlap existing state workers' compensation laws and could generate frivolous claims.
The question: should IFI strongly oppose the OSHA proposed mandatory ergonomics standard?
Liability Relief
Texas Rep. Joe Barton's Small Business Remediation Act would establish cleanup levels for contamination in soil and groundwater not actually used for drinking water. IFI has supported Barton's legislation, but passage of any legislation pertaining to Superfund has proven difficult.
To complement the legislative effort, IFI initiated contact with EPA to explore liability relief through administration action. This could mean EPA would give "no further action" letters to parties when the state assumes the authority to investigate potential contamination at a drycleaning site. The state would conduct an investigation only when a drycleaning site was being sold or refinanced and where contamination concerns have been referred to the state or there is litigation at the site because of a remedial issue.
Supporters of administrative relief believe that any mechanism that can achieve some liability relief for drycleaners should be fully pursued.
EPA has offered recommendations on administrative relief and also is assessing various proposals offered by the industry.
Supporters also say that a legislative solution will be difficult to achieve.
Opponents of the administrative relief approach say that EPA will never provide relief to the industry and that legislation is the only means to achieve the needed liability relief.
Some also question whether an administrative reform would curtail third-party liability.
The question: In addition to IFI's support of the Barton bill effort, should IFI continue to seek an administrative fix to limit third-party liability action against drycleaners for contamination at drycleaning sites?
Capital gains
Under a law enacted last year, an owner who sells a business at a profit must pay all capital gains taxes in one lump sum, even if the payments received for the sale are spread out over many years. The law makes it harder for small business owners who use the accrual method of accounting to sell part or all of their business on an installment plan. Efforts are underway to have Congress repeal the law.
Supporters believe that the accounting change makes it easier for the IRS to track business sales.
Also, a lump-sum payment curtails any fraudulent or inappropriate miscalculation of the capital gains on a business sale that can occur in installment sale transactions.
Opponents say that the seller of business now must have enough money to cover the complete capital gains tax on the sale even if the transaction is done in installments. Buyers would have to pay enough up-front money to cover the capital gains, yet most users of small businesses do not have that much money available.
The question: Should the installment method of calculating the basis for capital gains taxes be restored to accrual taxpayers selling business?
Tax Credit
Bills were introduced last year in both the U.S. House and Senate that would allow a credit against income tax for the purchases of "drycleaning equipment that uses reduced amounts of hazardous substances."
A hearing was held before a House subcommittee in July and the House bill (H.R. 1303) had 31 cosponsors as of mid-August.
Supporters believe the legislation will provide incentive for cleaners to use so-called environmentally friendly solvents, such as liquid carbon dioxide and/or water.
Opponents say that an tax-credit legislation should benefit all drycleaners and not create division in the industry because of the type of solvent used. All cleaning equipment that uses "reduced amounts of hazardous substances" should qualify for the tax credit.
The question: Should IFI support, oppose or take no official position on Congressional reconsidering of legislation to provide tax credits for CO2 drycleaning equipment?
A vote to support would mean IFI should actively encourage the passage of the legislation
A vote to oppose means IFI should not support the bill as offered and instead work aggressively to derail further consideration of passage of the bill.
A vote of no position would tell IFI to neither lend its name in support of the bill nor actively campaign against it.
The Smithsonian Institute recently invited GreenEarth Solutions and the International Fabricare Institute for a consultation concerning the museum's Star-Spangled Banner Preservation Project.
As part of a three-year, $18 million effort, the Smithsonian Institute is attempting to clean and preserve the 187-year-old U.S. flag that stands close to three stories high, measuring 30 by 34 feet.
The flag was made in Baltimore in 1813 by Mary Pickersgill and her 13-year-old daughter. It was commissioned to hang in Baltimore Harbor where it was present for a British attack on Fort McHenry (commanded by Major George Armistead) during the War of 1812.
On the morning following the battle, Francis Scott Key, a lawyer from Georgetown, was inspired by the sight of the flag still standing to write the words for America's national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner." When the flag was officially donated to the Smithsonian in 1912, it was already missing about eight feet at the bottom. Two years later, a linen backing was sewn onto the flag with about 1.7 million individual stitches by flag restorer Amelia Fowler, causing the flag to weigh approximately 150 pounds.
Over the years, exposure to ultraviolet light and oxygen have damaged the flag to the point that it is paper thin in some areas. Without the linen backing, the flag could not have even been exhibited.
The cleaning and preservation process for the flag is expected to require precision planning and delicate handling. The linen backing is undergoing the process of having each stitch removed individually so that the museum can determine what the next course of action should entail.
Upon learning of the project, both IFI and GreenEarth extended their textile expertise to the museum. Both groups met with the Smithsonian on July 31.
Jim Douglas and Mark Stevens of GreenEarth, along with IFI's CEO Bill Fisher and assistant general manager Mary Scalco, conferred with Suzanne Thomassen-Krauss, the Smithsonian's chief conservator for the Star-Spangled Banner Project.
The representatives from IFI and GreenEarth visited the environmentally-controlled lab where the flag is being preserved. The group viewed pictures of the banner and exchanged information with Thomassen-Krauss pertaining to the best possible cleaning methods for the flag.
Since the flag is so fragile, it must be cleaned flat, without agitation. To that end, Fisher pointed out the advantages and disadvantages of using perc, petroleum and siloxane under such conditions.
Cleaning the flag is only part of the problem, however. To conserve the banner, it will also be necessary to decide how to best stabilize it. A suitable fabric is required to provide permanent support for the flag. At Fisher's invitation, IFI will perform some testing at its headquarters to help with the decision of which fabric would be most suitable.
"IFI appreciates the opportunity to provide some small measure of assistance in this tremendous undertaking," said Fisher in a press release "We will continue to support the flag preservation project and offer our services, should they be needed, to the Smithsonian Institute as the project moves forward."
If goals of the project are met, the flag is expected to be on display at the Smithsonian Institute again in 2002. The Star-Spangled Banner has been on near-continuous display at the museum since it was originally loaned for exhibit in 1907. The flag, along with other irreplaceable artifacts, were removed from the museum for about two years during World War II.
More information on the Star-Spangled Banner Preservation Project can be obtained by visiting the Smithsonian's web site located at www.americanhistory.si.edu/ssb.
Hangers Cleaners, using carbon dioxide drycleaning technology developed by Micell Technologies, recently marked a milestone of cleaning over one million garments.
To commemorate the occasion, Hangers made a donation to Friends... You Can Count On, a national charity that supports breast cancer detection research.
Martha Kaley, founder of Friends, said in a press release, "We are thrilled to be collaborating with an innovative, health conscious business like Hangers. Hangers' generous donation of $3,000 will help us make vital seed grants to early detection researchers. The earlier we detect breast cancer, the more lives we can save." Hangers has invited its customers to help them celebrate the achievement of cleaning one million garments by giving them to the opportunity to register to win $50 in free cleaning from each Hangers store.
Since the first Hangers store opened in February, 1999, the franchise has expanded its locations to include eight in Wilmington, NC, seven in Greensboro, NC, six in Lincoln, NE, and five in Providence, RI. Twelve liquid carbon dioxide machines have been installed and operate to serve the stores in those locations.
Hanger's executives plan to have 70 retail stores in operation by the end of 2000. Development is underway in Asheville, NC; Bridgeport, CT; Charlotte, NC; Dallas, TX; Houston, TX; Las Vegas, NV; Miami, FL; Richmond, VA; Wake Forest NC; and Philadelphia, PA.
For more information about Hangers or Micell, call (877) MICELL-1, ext. 129, or visit them on the web at www.micell.com or www.hangersdrycleaners.com.
Methods For Management, Inc., a consulting company that has provided information to members of the drycleaning industry for more than 40 years, is now offering free consultation assistance over the Internet.
"The Internet allows an exchange of ideas and comments like never before," said Methods For Management's managing director, Deborah Rechnitz, at an industry meeting.
Reinforcing this idea, Methods For Management set up its web site so visitors can type in a question at the site and submit it confidentially. One of five Methods For Management, consultants will respond with an answer to the query.
The question may pertain to a wide variety of issues, from managing people and marketing strategies to profit enhancement and family planning. Methods For Management will address all aspects of business.
In addition to providing answers to questions from site visitors, the firm also provides open access to an archive of answers to commonly asked drycleaning questions. Visitors can review the information provided by Methods For Management on a variety of topics, including: production floor management; marketing; finance; human resources; and strategic planning.
To access the site, go to www.mfmi.com. Click on the "FREE Question" button or pick a category and read questions that have been previously asked and answered.
Three exhibitions of cleaning and laundry equipment outside the United States are planned for this fall.
Cleaning 2000 will be held in China at the Shanghai International Cleaning and Laundering Machine Exposition, Sept. 12-15. Information is available by sending a fax to (86) 21-52340649 or e-mail to weszhou@online.sh.cn .
Clean-Life Vision 21 will be held in Tokyo, Japan, Oct. 13-15. Information is available by sending a fax to (81) 3-3263-7077 or e-mail to clv@ics-inc.co.jp .
Dry Cleaning and Laundry 2000 will be held at the Manezh Central Exhibition Hall in Moscow, Russia, Oct. 23-26. Information on that show is available by sending a fax to (095) 124 7060.
Courses in Drycleaning Processes and Equipment, Stain Removal and Finishing will be offered at the International Fabricare Institute headquarters campus in Silver Spring, MD, this month.
Stain Removal, offered Sept. 11-13, provides an understanding of textiles and stain removal and shows students how to organize stain removal tools and equipment, simplify stain removal agents, improve stain removal procedures, modify the use of bleaches and manage stain removal and specialty fabrics. The cost is $299 for IFI members and $449 for non-members.
Drycleaning Processes and Equipment, offered Sept. 14-15, covers operation of perc and petroleum systems, understanding textiles and drycleaning, simplifying classification, improving filtration and distillation, solvent management, detergent and moisture, learning about drying and vapor recovery, troubleshooting drycleaning machines and streamlining marking in. The cost is $199 for IFI members and $299 for non-members.
Finishing will be offered Sept. 18-19. The course covers quality finishing points, finishing procedures, special finishing tools, basic techniques for skirts, pants, coats, blouses and dresses, specialty items like pleats, velvets and pile fabrics and effective packaging. The cost is $199 for IFI members and $299 for non-members.
All three courses will be offered again next month as part of the full three-week cycle of drycleaning classes, which features all of the IFI course offerings in consecutive sequence beginning Oct. 9
Other courses in the cycle include the following:
Shirts is a one-day course that covers invoicing and tagging, inspection and classification, removal of common stains, effective wash formulas, solving problems and finishing. The cost is $99 for IFI members, $149 for non-members.
Wetcleaning, a two-day course that covers removing stains, understanding bleach baths, understanding wetcleaning equipment, handling special items and master wetcleaning and finishing techniques.
The one-day wedding gowns course provides an understanding of fibers and fabrics specific to wedding gowns, inspection procedures, cleaning and restoration and finishing techniques, effective packaging and marketing. The cost is $99 for IFI members, and $149 for non-members.
Business Practices is a two-day course in which students learn to organize inventory control, simplify business analysis, build employee teams, motivate employees, develop effective advertising and streamline plant layout. The cost is $199 for IFI members, and $299 for non-members.
Legislation, a one-day course covers care label rules, OSHA and EPA regulations and soil and groundwater contamination. The cost is $99 for IFI members and $149 for non-members.
Customer Service, also a one-day course, covers customer expectations and attitudes, managing potential cleaning problems, customer interaction and handling difficult situations.
The cost for the full three-week cycle is $1,250 for IFI members or $1,995 for non-members.
Those who complete all nine courses receive a "General Drycleaning Course Certificate" that indicates knowledge of professional drycleaning standards and practices.
Students can also register for individual one, two or three-day classes or register for a full week of courses at the rate of $450 for IFI members and $695 for non-members.
The one-day courses cost $99 for IFI members and $149 for non-members. Two-day courses are $199 for IFI members and $299 for non-members.
A non-refundable deposit of 10 percent is required with the application; the balance is due four weeks before the class starts.
All classes feature hands-on training and classroom work. The facilities at IFI include 16 stain removal boards, various types of presses, perc and petroleum cleaning machines and a wetcleaning machine. Scholarships are available for IFI members.
The Stain Removal, Drycleaning Processes and Equipment and Finishing courses will each be offered one final time this year in November.
For more information or to register or to learn about IFI's education offerings for next year, contact Susan Bale, (800) 638-2627 ext. 144, or send e-mail to education@ifi.org .
Supporters of a proposal to provide drycleaners with a 20 percent tax credit for the purchase of "environmentally friendly" equipment insist that the measure would include wetcleaning machinery, as well as liquid carbon dioxide machines. Whether other types of equipment would qualify would depend on meeting the restrictions set out in the bill.
The proposal was aired before the House Small Business Subcommittee on Tax, Finance and Exports in July. No further action has taken place on the bill since then and limited time remains for this Congress to pass legislation.
Question were raised about the bill by IFI CEO Bill Fisher at the hearing. Among his comments and criticisms, Fisher said the bill, as written, does not seem to include wetcleaning equipment.
Joseph DeSimone, founder and chairman of Micell Technologies and a self-described "big advocate of the bill," said the intention has been all along to have the tax credit available for wetcleaning equipment."
If the bill needs to be modified to make that intention clear, he said he would be glad to have it corrected.
"This is a real opportunity for the federal government to invest in pollution prevention technology," DeSimone said. He is hopeful that it will be included as part of a larger tax bill in this session of Congress. The bill had 31 cosponsors when Congress left for its August recess. If the bill does not pass before Congress adjourns for the year, tentatively scheduled for October, it would have to be reintroduced next year.
The tax credit would amount to 20 percent of the basis of each "qualified" piece of equipment placed in service during the taxable year, with a limit of one piece of equipment per location per year. Qualifying equipment, as defined in the bill, includes drycleaning equipment that "does not use any hazardous solvent as the primary process solvent." That specifically excludes, by definition in the bill, chlorinated solvents, petroleum or petroleum-based solvents and "any other hazardous or regulated substances."
IFI's Fisher told the subcommittee that the tax credit should also be extended to cleaners who invested in perc and petroleum machinery that reduces pollution, too. Fisher also said the credit should be retroactive to 1996 to benefit cleaners who have installed newer equipment, including wetcleaning, that reduces pollution and benefits the environment.
Illinois Rep. Don Manzullo, who chairs the House subcommittee, said in a "Sense of the Congress" resolution he offered a week after the hearing that he wants to "help bring to light the situation our nation's small dry and wet cleaning establishments face with regard to the cleaning process that most of the small cleaning establishments use -- namely perchloroethylene and petroleum-based solvents." Both are known pollutants," he said and contaminate the air, land and groundwater.
Manzullo said the tax credit is an "incentive-based approach to resolving the complex environmental problems the drycleaning industry faces."
Manzullo noted that some financial institutions are reluctant to deal with drycleaners because of risks and liability associated with solvent use.
"There are options out there and I encourage our financial institutions to work with our dry and wet cleaners to expands this new environmentally safe technology," he said.
The International Drycleaning Congress's Dream Clean 2000 convention will be held in Canberra Australia, Oct. 12-16.
IDC members will be welcomed to Canberra at a special reception on the evening of Oct. 12.
Thursday will be open for exploring Canberra during the day; the official welcome session will be Thursday evening when Kate Carnell, chief minister of the Australian Capital Territory, will open the convention.
Jim Barry's keynote presentation on the drycleaning industry will start off the Friday topics. He will be followed by an international panel discussing environmental issues.
Afternoon sessions will include "Computer Technology of the Future" and "Best Marketing Ideas" from around the world.
The Allied Traders Night, with Shane St. James, will complete Friday's activities.
Saturday morning starts off with a breakfast with Paul Lyneham of Australian TV's "60 Minutes." Presentations on "Increasing Your Personal Wealth" and "Going Public in the Drycleaning Industry" will follow, then the "Young Cleaner's Perspective" will conclude the morning programs.
Saturday afternoon will have an offering of plant tours or other sight-seeing excursions, followed by an evening of entertainment and fellowship at the Science and Technology Museum.
The IDC Fellowship Award presentations will start the day on Sunday, followed by the International Solvent Sessions. "Management and Motivation" will be the topics of the afternoon.
The traditional IDC banquet will be held on Sunday evening with special guest of honor, Margaret Reid, the president of the Australian Senate.
One final program, the Sayonarra Breakfast, will take place on Monday morning.
Convention registration is US$595. Included in the fee are all business sessions, the welcome cocktail party, breakfast, lunch and dinner each day and plant tours.
The Park Royal Hotel in Canberra will be the headquarters for the convention. Convention rates for the Park Royal hotel range from US$150 to US$299 (approximate).
More information is also available on the web at www.drycleanersweb.com.au. Information is also available through the Yamato Travel Bureau, (800) 334-4982.
Mr. Smith, attending a picnic with his wife and friends, brought along the oil and vinegar for salads in the same bottle.
Mrs. Smith told him that was a mistake. She likes a lot of oil and very little vinegar and their friends like a lot of vinegar and very little oil.
Mr. Smith, who attended NCA-I's spotting course, told her "I can accomplish this with one bottle." How could he do it?
According to Dan Eisen, Mr. Smith can separate the two liquids by simply using a bottle with a spout.
This works because oil and vinegar separate in the bottle, with oil rising to float above the vinegar.
What Mr. Smith has is one bottle with the two liquids in separate layers. Getting the liquid he wants is a matter of positioning.
When he wants vinegar, he turns the bottle down, opens the spout, and vinegar will come out.
Should he want oil, he keeps the bottle upright, opens the spout, tilting it to pour oil out of the bottle.
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