"What is eco-fashion?

• Wet Cleaning. One of these “greenâ€� cleaning alternatives is wet cleaning – immersing the garments in water rather than chemical solvents such as PERC and then using specially designed wet cleaning, drying and stretching machines and processes to eliminate some of the problems which drove people to use dry cleaning rather than a conventional washing machine in the first place. Studies report that wet cleaning is able to safely clean 50% to 70% of “dry clean onlyâ€� garments including leather, suede, woolens, silk, angora, cashmere, and rayons.Wet Cleaning uses specially formulated eco-friendly, biodegradable detergents and soaps. The temperatures of the water, the degree of agitation during the wash cycle, and the moisture content and temperatures during the drying are computer monitored and regulated to prevent shrinkage, damage to the fibers, loss and running of dyes, and loss of shape of the garment. Spotting and hand cleaning of stains is still an important step in the beginning of the cleaning process but green alternatives use cleaners made with enzymes, peptides (which are short chain amino acids), and eco-friendly detergents. Disadvantages of Wet Cleaning. Wet cleaning requires a thorough and extensive understanding of fabrics and state-of-the-art computerized wet cleaning machines to prevent transforming that favorite silk suit into lumpy, color-streaked, water-stained, couture chaos that only Mr. Blackwell could love. Also, wet cleaning detergents and additives usually are drained directly into the public sewers along with large quantities of wastewater. The potential environmental effects of some of the new wet cleaning detergents and additives are unknown. These are not products that you can buy at your local co-op or natural food store. Wet cleaning is a very water-intensive and labor-intensive process. Compared with dry cleaning, wet cleaning will also cause more fabric deterioration resulting in some felting, loss of luster, loss of shape, and color bleeding or color dulling.