Kildare Stop & Shop

Since 1992, the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Design for the Environment Garment and Textile Care Partnership has been working in partnership with the dry-cleaning industry. Their goal? To reduce exposures to perchloroethylene, or perc, the solvent that approximately 85 percent of the more than 35,000 dry cleaners use on garments and textile products. This nonflammable, synthetic solvent can potentially cause harm to the workers who are exposed to it, as well as to you and the environment. Some studies have shown that workers exposed to perc have higher risks of skin, liver, and kidney damage, and possibly some types of cancer. Perc can also get into our air, water, and soil during several phases of the dry-cleaning process, and it can enter your body through drinking-water contamination, skin exposure, or most frequently, inhalation.