Make Sure to Read the Garment Care Label

I had a dry cleaner outside of Chattanooga, TN point this care label out to me today.  Many of you may have seen this type of labeling before but it was a first for me.
The garment is manufactured by Carlisle, the RN#  69161. The material was linen with an acetate lining.  The care label reads "Dry Clean With Green Earth Solvent Only".  The only problem with the care instructions was the symbol for the dry cleaning process was a P with a circle around it, indicating that it can be cleaned in any solvent except tricholorethylene.
What really had surprised the cleaner and myself was that this was the first garment that we had seen that had specifically named Green Earth as the type of solvent to be used for cleaning and with an ever increasing number of cleaners moving away from perc, I suspect that we will see more care labels like this.
In my opinion, this more specific label is a very welcome tool to assist all professional dry cleaners to choose the proper process needed to clean the garments in the way the manufacturer of the garment intended.  The only drawback being the cleaner will have to check these labels more closely and may not be using the solvent type specified by the manufacturer.

This perc dry cleaner was on his toes and caught the garment before it got into his perc dry cleaning machine.  The garment was no different in appearance from any other garment that could normally be cleaned in his perc machine. What had really made him look at the label was the feel of the garment.  It had a very different, almost a slightly plastic or rubber- like feel to the fabric finish that had been used to preserve the dimensional stability of the garment.  The fabric finish would have surely came out during dry cleaning in the perc machine and would have probably resulted in an upset customer and possibly a claim.
Click here for the Textile Affairs guide to garment care labels.

Check The Care Labels!!