Profile: Ron Sarni

At the time, wetcleaning had yet to be proven as a successful alternative cleaning process. Some skeptics in the industry believed that 100% wetcleaning wasn’t even possible.

Undaunted, Deborah set forth to prove that her Santa Monica, CA-based plant, Cleaner By Nature, could succeed on its own terms.

Making things more complex was the fact that the plant’s progress was monitored from day one in a research

study conducted by UCLA and funded by the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the California Air Resources Board and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

“From the day we opened our doors, we were the subject of this test, so talk about pressure,” Deborah laughed, recalling the situation. “I had a brand new business with a brand new method of cleaning and we were under the microscope right from the beginning.”

As part of the experiment, one set of test garments was wetcleaned while identical counterparts were sent to be drycleaned or not cleaned at all, as a control for the study.

“At the end of the study, they compared the three garments to see how everybody fared,” she explained. “They looked at our financial records. It was risky. If the study had turned out to not be favorable to us, it would be public knowledge.”

Ultimately, the study concluded that the operations of Cleaner By Nature were essentially the same as a drycleaning plant. The expenses were relative, as were garment claims. While wetcleaned clothes tended to shrink and stretch more often, they also were much less prone to have other damage issues, such as problems with buttons, sequins, and zippers.

The study also revealed something else that Deborah found interesting. “People that were wearing the test garments were in a double blind test so they didn’t know if their garments were being wetcleaned or drycleaned. They actually rated the wetcleaning better than drycleaning.”

One thing Deborah carried with her long before she created Cleaner By Nature was a deep love and respect for animals and natural places. Even though she appreciated the beautiful “City of Lakes” that she grew up in (a.k.a. Minneapolis, MN), Deborah preferred to attend college in a warmer climate on the West Coast. “I love the environment, but I’m not foolish,” she said. “I like warm places.”

After pursuing a degree in public administration at San Diego State University, she followed up with a bachelor’s equivalent degree in marketing/communication at the University of California, San Diego.

It was around that time that she volunteered to help one of her campus professors run for Congress and met her husband of 15 years, Michael, now an attorney. At the time, he was in law school under the tutelage of the same professor and he also worked for the campaign.

After college, Deborah had a chance to nurture her love of political activism by working for the next five years with California State Assemblywoman Lucy Killea.

“That was a very interesting experience... to see government from the inside,” she said. “What I liked about the job was helping people to get involved in the system. I don’t think that government has to be the enemy. It is made up by the people for the people. It’s our government and I love to see people using it.”

As part of her duties, Deborah was responsible for briefing Killea on important local environmental issues, so she learned firsthand about the regulatory burdens in the drycleaning industry.

“I had to actually attend state hearings at that time on the regulations of drycleaners, so I learned the issue from both sides,” she said. “I could see how frustrated drycleaners were in having to deal with all of the regulations and I also saw the problem that the government has trying to regulate so many individual businesses.”

As much as she enjoyed her work, Deborah entertained notions of being a business owner some day, so she knew it was time to move on. She proceeded to work for a company that had deep ties in her local community in San Diego — Price Club (now known as Costco.) “I felt that it was something new and exciting at the time — the whole warehouse concept was very new.”

Deborah worked her way up the marketing department and eventually became the company’s West Coast director of marketing. “One of my major responsibilities was opening new Price Club stores, so I got a lot of experience there in opening businesses.”

One thing she learned at Price Club was the importance of retaining customers, a lesson she later applied to her own business. “Drycleaning is a retail business. In retail, you’ve just got to keep your eye on the customer at all times. I know sometimes it’s easy to get wrapped up in the day-to-day operations of machinery and expenses and this and that, but the bottom line is: if your customers aren’t happy and they aren’t coming back, you don’t have a business.”

In 1996, Deborah was ready to take all she had learned and use that knowledge to start a business that would make a difference in the world.

Her political work had already acquainted her with the trials and tribulations faced by cleaners, and it had made her aware that drycleaning was an industry that touched every neighborhood in the country. “I wanted to find a business that was more than just a livelihood, something that would improve the world, as corny as that sounds,” she said. “I knew the drycleaning industry couldn’t continue to rely on perc forever. If I could help in some way to turn this industry around, I could feel good about my life and work.”

So far, customers have reacted well to both the cleaning method and the results. Deborah estimates that over 80% of her customers initially come to Cleaner By Nature because it is eco-friendly.

In fact, that is the reason that one of her higher profile customers, John Travolta, still sends her garments even though he is filming on the other side of the U.S. in Florida. Currently, he is shipping 22 black Armani shirts (his attire for the movie) that cost about $450 each all the way back to Santa Monica.

“Consumers are more sophisticated now,” Deborah noted. “They know that alternatives are available and they want them.”

Some of the public attention has come in the form of awards for preserving the environment. Since its opening, Cleaner By Nature has been given a Clean Air Award, two Sustainable Quality Awards, a Model Cleaner Award and a Good Earthkeeping Award, among others.

While Deborah subscribes strongly to the belief that human beings have a duty to preserve nature for future generations, it isn’t something she casually advocates. Everything she does is influenced by her love of nature, even her hobbies.

She spends a lot of time hiking in exotic places all around the world. She has traveled to Mexico, Costa Rica and Argentina, and she recently headed to the Pantanal region of Brazil. She calls herself an “active traveler.”

One of her other passions is caring for wildlife, especially birds. She estimates that she has encountered some 2,000 different bird species in her bird-watching career.

Much of her spare time is spent with Project Wildlife, an organization which helps injured and orphaned wildlife. “I’m a wildlife paramedic,” she said. “I spend my weekends nursing back to health wild animals and birds.”

Deborah is also a member of the Audubon Society for bird lovers and has helped Wildlife Waystation from time to time.

Additionally, she has helped her local community by donating cleaning services to charity groups such as “Clothes The Deal” which helps people who are re-entering the workforce after being in various social services organizations. “Example is the best way to make an impact and hopefully I lead by example. Although I’ve done my share of political work, as well, I like to get personally involved in things I’m passionate about,” Deborah said.

Nowadays, Cleaner By Nature’s two locations wetclean about 30% of its garments. The other 70% is cleaned with GreenEarth. Deborah has monitored the alternative solvents for a while, and she realizes the importance of being flexible.

“I have always felt that there were likely to be more alternatives developed over time and I see my mission as bringing the best alternatives to my customers,” she said. “It’s such a wonderful tool to be able to choose. Some garments will be silicone maybe just because of the pressing issues; others we might still choose to wetclean if they have a lot of odor or water-based stains.”

Of course, being a “green” cleaner wouldn’t make much of an impact if the business failed to make enough financial “green” to stick around. Deborah is determined to keep growing. “There have been some others who have tried to do alternative cleaning and have failed, I think, because their emphasis seemed to be elsewhere. My emphasis is to make this work right so the customers are happy with it. We’re still here so I must be doing something right.”