green dry cleaning REview

Hello everyone, I hope your Monday is being productive yet short.

As we all know, living a metropolitan lifestyle is usually fast paced and many of us use a dry cleaning service to keep our finer clothes fresh and clean for when we don't have time (or are generally bad at) to wash  ourselves by hand. But the problem with that is that most places use extremely toxic chemicals that are harmful for you and planet. In London there are a few places that offer sustainable dry cleaning services and I have a review for you today of Connoisseur Dry Cleaning. 

​The items I took in for reviewing were one of my favourite blazers that had no visible stains but started to smell of B.O and cigarette fumes. The second choice of  garment I took in is a bandage dress that belongs to my friend and had a visible food stain on the backside. I took the items in and had a friendly chat with the wonderful director Ediz about his sustainability visions. 

What initially made you set up a dry cleaning service that was sustainable? 
At the turn of the millennium our father (Bazil Zekayi) decided that choosing a greener dry cleaning method was the future.  After searching the market for a sustainable option he found Green Earth.  Green Earth was already very successful in the U.S, however cleaners in the U.K avoided it due to the higher costs and manual pre-spotting involved before cleaning.   For Connoisseurs it was a step in the right direction - it is better for the environment, better for the clothing and better for our staff. 
This unique process also allows Connoisseurs to clean all specialist items safely and delicately onsite such as Wedding Dresses, Traditional Saree's, Leather's, Suede's, Fur's..etc  

What does sustainability mean to you personally? 
Sustainability is the future for every person and business, whether they know it or not.  It's no longer a phase but a necessity.  Reducing our carbon footprint helps the environment and as a business owner also reduces costs.  

How is it sustainable compared to normal dry cleaners?
The amount of wear caused to a garment using Perc (the traditional cleaning solvent used by most dry cleaners) is 7 times greater than Green Earth.
Effectively items should last seven times as long if cleaned with GreenEarth.  According to our statistics the waste generated from the Green Earth process is on average 75% less due to the ability to recycle, purify and recover the Green Earth after a cleaning cycle.

Does it cost more than normal dry cleaning?
Yes - perhaps initially. This is due to the process being unique and our costs to use it being higher. In the long run however, garments will look better for longer prolonging their life and avoiding early replacement due to wear.

Does it take longer than normal dry cleaning?
Yes - The Green Earth process takes approximately 20-25 minutes longer to complete a cycle.

What are the future goals of Connoisseurs? 
We aim to always be one step ahead of the traditional high street dry cleaner, by offering numerous specialist cleaning services that are sustainable, affordable and of the highest quality.

I picked up the items the following week of giving it in and analysed both items in the store. The blazer came out perfect with no creases and all the stitches in place whilst smelling clean. The dress stain however was vaguely visible upon close examination. One of the staff workers explained that the food stain couldn't be removed as it had been setting for a long period (thats my friends fault) and that it was over stitched pattern fabric. The dress is still very wearable though and to know that you aren't harming the planet in order to keep your clothes clean is a much better feeling than maybe using something more chemical to get that stain out. 

I recommend Connoisseur highly for their excellent customer care if you live in London and if you live you live somewhere else just use google to find something locally. 

Connoisseur Dry Cleaners
3-5 Fairhazel Gardens, London NW6 3QE
0207 328 8111 info@c-dc.co.uk