Business Watch: Flair Cleaners

Adding green to dry cleaning
Business is urging customers to use biodegradable plastic bags, or no bags at all.
Burbank Leader: February 8, 2011 by Gretchen Meier

Flair Cleaners in Burbank has over the past year successfully asked customers to get their clothes naked — that is without all the plastic wrapping and other packaging.

In an effort to reduce waste, more than 30% of the customers at Flair now ask for their clothes naked, said store manager Ron Roscoe.

Flair Cleaners at 337 N. Pass Ave. already uses biodegradable plastic bags to hang freshly cleaned garments, but it wants customers to ditch plastic completely. Last week the store gave away a free reusable dry-cleaning bag to everyone who came in with two or more items to be cleaned.

Now, the bag’s manufacturer, the Green Garmento, uses Flair Cleaners as a mentor program for other dry cleaners that want to begin replacing plastic bags.

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The family-owned business began eliminating solvent with carcinogens more than 10 years ago, Roscoe said.

“We already use biodegradable bags, recyclable hangers and paper, and we try to reuse everything we can,” Roscoe said. “We’re trying to do everything we can to keep it green.”

The California Recycling Program has honored Flair with nine consecutive Waste Reduction Awards. READ MORE !