While running Downtown Alterations, Lori Anne Gaddy often listened to customers complaining about the effects of having their clothes dry cleaned by shops that use a solvent known as perc.
The vast majority of dry cleaning shops in the United States use perchloroethylene, a hazardous air pollutant linked to cancer and neurological damage. The Environmental Protection Agency indicated last month that it will reconsider whether to compel dry cleaners to phase out perc, an action already taken by the state of California.
Downtown Alterations had been outsourcing its dry cleaning services to a shop that used perc.
“I always knew I wanted to do green cleaning to get away from the bad smell of perc,” Gaddy said. “Coming from a tailoring background I could see what the harsh chemicals were doing. Perc would dry out cashmeres and not maintain the integrity of the fabric.”
In January, Gaddy and Nora Hunter opened French Laundry, which markets itself as the only certified GreenEarth cleaner in Columbia and still does alterations. The shop, located at 3910 Peachtree Dr. between Hemingway’s and Blockbuster, doesn’t use perc and instead cleans clothing with liquid silicone, a solution made from silica, or sand. The process of cleaning is so safe that Gaddy, who is five-months pregnant, said she feels comfortable working in and around the solvent.
“I have a dermatologist who is sending patients to us because our methods are non-toxic and hypoallergenic,” Gaddy said. “If you have a choice between something carcinogenic or not, I don’t know why you wouldn’t choose something healthier for you and your clothes.”
