Clean green

More and more dry cleaners are abandoning perchloroethylene, a solvent that can contaminate ground water and contribute to smog, and instead are turning to more Earth-friendly cleansers. The nationwide demand for PERC, as it is known, has declined 82 percent from 1985 to 2002, according to the Textile Care Allied Trades Association; in Southern California, it has been banned altogether.

A suspected carcinogen at sufficiently high levels, PERC gives garments that distinctive dry-cleaner odor--and gives workers headaches. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that customers who patronize PERC-free cleaners say their clothing has never smelled fresher, and workers are headache-free.

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