This month, we’re diving into the WHY of things. WHY do things work (or not work) the way they are? WHY should I change XYZ to have a better operating plant? WHY do people act the way they do? Let’s ask!
If you have a burning WHY question, send it our way and we’ll get an answer for you. Shoot an email to: becca@fabricarecanada.com.
Why Efficiency Might Actually Be Slowing You Down
When making one department faster makes the whole plant less efficient
By Tara Clark
Consultant and Partnerships Director at GreenEarth Cleaning
Efficiency can slow you down.
Sounds paradoxical, doesn’t it?
In commercial laundry and dry cleaning, efficiency is usually regarded as unquestionably good. Faster machines, higher production rates and fewer minutes/kilogram all look like signs of a well-oiled operation. But there is a danger in optimizing individual departments without considering the operation as a whole.
WHY Are Your Customers Leaving Without Saying Goodbye?
The silent reasons good customers disappear, and what you can do about them
By Linley McConnell
I want to dig into a silent problem in our industry: why customers quietly disappear without a complaint, a review, or a word of feedback. According to Forbes, 91-96% of customers who are unhappy with a brand will leave without complaining. That stat should change how we think about “no news is good news.” Here’s where your business may be missing the mark.
DLI School Celebrates 100 Years of Industry Leadership
The Drycleaning & Laundry Institute’s (DLI) School of Drycleaning Technology is celebrating its 100th anniversary this October, marking a century of hands-on education that has shaped generations of drycleaners and laundry professionals around the world.
September 23-24, 2026
Leadership Foundations Workshop
1:00 – 4:00 PM ET
LIVE and Virtual via Zoom
The workshop is built for new and emerging frontline leaders, supervisors and team leads, high-performing employees being prepared for leadership roles, and plant managers and GMs responsible for developing their supervisors.
MORE DETAILS AND REGISTRATION LINK IN CONFERENCES & EVENTS…
DLI October Schedule
The Drycleaning & Laundry Institute (DLI) and its partner regional associations present more opportunities for drycleaning professionals to learn, grow, and connect in October.
SEE THE SCHEDULE IN CONFERENCES & EVENTS…
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SEPTEMBER ARTICLES: WHY?
WHY Do You Have to Separate Solvent and Water?
What happens after solvent and water leave the still, and why getting them apart isn’t as simple as it sounds.
By Bruce Grossman
Bruce Grossman, Chief of R & D, EZ Timers Manufacturing breaks down the science and mechanics behind solvent/water separation, explaining why gravity, temperature, turbulence, separator design, and precise valve sequencing all matter. From PERC to lighter-than-water solvents, Bruce takes a closer look at what’s happening inside the machine and, more importantly, why it matters to the dry cleaner.
WHY Are Clothes Made This Way?
Taking the mystery out of clothing design
By Becca Anderson
Ever wonder why women’s buttons are on the left, why jeans have that tiny pocket, or why some shirt buttonholes run sideways? The details we take for granted often have surprisingly practical, or sometimes quirky, origins. In our latest feature, we track down the reasons behind some of the peculiar details of modern clothing. Turns out, many of them go back a long way.
Why Efficiency Might Actually Be Slowing You Down
When making one department faster makes the whole plant less efficient
By Tara Clark
Consultant and Partnerships Director at GreenEarth Cleaning
Efficiency can slow you down.
Sounds paradoxical, doesn’t it?
In commercial laundry and dry cleaning, efficiency is usually regarded as unquestionably good. Faster machines, higher production rates and fewer minutes/kilogram all look like signs of a well-oiled operation. But there is a danger in optimizing individual departments without considering the operation as a whole.
WHY Are Your Customers Leaving Without Saying Goodbye?
The silent reasons good customers disappear, and what you can do about them
By Linley McConnell
I want to dig into a silent problem in our industry: why customers quietly disappear without a complaint, a review, or a word of feedback. According to Forbes, 91-96% of customers who are unhappy with a brand will leave without complaining. That stat should change how we think about “no news is good news.” Here’s where your business may be missing the mark.
AUGUST ARTICLES: Sustainability
Wash. Dry. Grow.
How one equipment distributor is helping reforest British Columbia, one equipment sale at a time.
By Becca Anderson
While researching a recent article on East Van Laundry in Vancouver, BC, I spent some time exploring the website of its equipment distributor, Bichin Laundry Equipment. One section immediately caught my attention. It highlighted a sustainability initiative that was too good not to share.
Sustainability often feels like a conversation about regulations, technology and energy efficiency. Sometimes, though, it begins with a simple idea that encourages businesses and customers to make a positive local impact.
Driving Sustainability Through Smarter Logistics
How data and integration reduce emissions in the laundry industry
(Reprinted by permission from ABS Laundry Solutions)
Sustainability in the industrial laundry sector is often associated with water usage, chemicals, and energy consumption. While these factors remain critical, a less visible but equally impactful area is logistics. Transport between facilities, depots, and customers represents a significant share of operational emissions.
According to Rob Helsen (ABS Chief Product Officer), optimizing these flows is not just a logistical challenge but a strategic opportunity to reduce environmental impact. By leveraging software, integrations, and smarter data usage, laundry operators can significantly lower their carbon footprint without compromising service levels.
Companies Strut their Sustainability
By Becca Anderson
Sustainability doesn’t have to be a big, flashy program. It can be a series of social media posts that lead people to think and have those “ah-hah!” moments that change their perception and their behavior going forward.
Here are some companies that are putting out the message in simple, accessible ways.
Can Laundry Be Both Sustainable and Profitable?
By Jenny Repfennig
Miele North America (USA & Canada) Regional Marketing Manager – Business Unit Professional)
Sustainability is no longer optional in today’s laundry industry. The commercial laundry industry is increasingly being asked to reduce its environmental footprint while maintaining productivity and cleaning performance. Advances in equipment design are making it possible to pursue both goals simultaneously.
Miele Professional’s current product line illustrates several of the ways manufacturers are approaching this challenge.
Sustainability Makes Headlines
LG Electronics Earns “Top 1%” Sustainability Ranking from S&P Global for Third Year
In May 2026, LG Electronics (LG) received “Top 1%” ranking in S&P Global’s Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) for the third consecutive year, with a score of 77 out of 100. LG achieved the highest marks in the CSA’s Leisure Equipment & Products and Consumer Electronics industry category.
LG demonstrated consistent performance across multiple criteria, including environmental policies, human rights, supply chain management and customer relations. It also received high ratings in governance, reflecting its transparency and efforts to strengthen the independence of its board of directors.
Prove It!
Sustainability claims are only as good as your proof.
By Becca Anderson
We have published numerous articles about companies and their sustainability efforts. It can all look very good on paper, but where’s the proof? And how do you get it?
For some areas of the industry, the proof comes from independent testing labs, like the Hohenstein Institute, an 80-year-old, third-generation family-owned company based in Bönnigheim, Germany, with labs and offices around the world (including one in Ligonier, IN.)
The average cleaner spends all day dealing with results: stains, shrinkage, damaged garments, customer complaints, regulations, changing chemistry.
Hohenstein spends all day asking:
- Why did this fabric fail?
- Is this chemistry actually safe?
- How can sustainability claims be verified?
- What standards should the industry use?
- How do we prove something instead of just marketing it?
We spoke with Ben Mead, Managing Director of Hohenstein America, to learn more about the role of independent testing labs in the realm of sustainability.
READ IT HERE…
The Missing Link in Circular Fashion
Why garment care matters long after the sale
By Garry Knox, Sustainability Director, GreenEarth
Sustainability in fashion is no longer focused solely on how garments are made. Increasingly, attention is turning to what happens after a product is purchased. As brands invest in resale, repair, rental and take-back programs, garment care is becoming an important part of extending product life and reducing environmental impact.
Sustainability From the Ground Up
How Kreussler is tackling energy, water, chemistry and waste
Editor’s Note: This article was supplied by Kreussler in response to our invitation to tell our readers about the things the company is doing to reduce its environmental footprint. We also ran a social media post in our “Companies Strut their Sustainability” article earlier this month.
Dry cleaning sits at an unusual intersection of chemistry, energy, water, equipment, and logistics. That makes sustainability less about a single change and more about rethinking how an entire operation works.
“For Kreussler, it is of enormous importance to pursue a long-term, and above all, credible sustainability strategy,” says Thomas Zeck, Commercial Director of Kreussler GmbH.
Making Green Measurable
Green Business Benchmark gives cleaners a way to measure, document and improve their environmental practices.
You can have all the good intentions in the world when it comes to running an environmentally responsible business. But how do you prove to your customers that you’re actually doing it?
One option is Green Business Benchmark (GBB), a program that helps businesses measure and document their environmental practices. America’s Best Cleaners™ has partnered with GBB, so we asked ABC Executive Director Chris White to explain how the program works.
The Missing Link in Clothing Sustainability
Fabricare professionals know what happens to garments after the sale. That experience could help the entire clothing industry reduce waste.
By Linley McConnell
Earlier this year, Gibson’s had the pleasure of hosting the leadership team from Fashion Takes Action (FTA), at our new facility. FTA is Canada’s leading non-profit working to make the fashion industry more sustainable and reduce textile waste. Their work helps consumers, students, businesses, governments and industry partners find ways to make clothing more sustainable and less wasteful.
I sat down with Laura Cristinzo, FTA’s Circularity Program Manager, to learn more about their work and how fabricare fits into the conversation.
When Sustainability Meets the Bottom Line
Vale Siegrist is the founder of Circular Club, a membership group that allows families to share quality used children’s clothing, rather than throw it away when it is outgrown. She has thought and written extensively on garment production. This is a reprinted opinion piece.
How Sustainable Is Your Workforce?
If all of your critical knowledge lives inside one person’s head, your business isn’t sustainable.
By Kevin Marois
Our industry has a problem with graying. No, not redeposition. Our workforce is turning gray, and when experienced employees retire, their institutional knowledge often leaves with them.
Who Haven’t We Seen Lately?
The Most Sustainable Customer Is the One You Already Have
By Francis Flair
When we hear the word sustainability, we often think about energy, water, chemicals, equipment, and waste. Those things matter, but there is another kind of sustainability every business owner should think about: How much of the business you work so hard to earn do you actually keep?
Dry cleaners and laundromats spend a lot of time and money trying to attract new customers. You advertise. You offer promotions. You join community groups. You ask for referrals. Then someone finally walks through the door.
And what do many businesses do next? Go right back to looking for the next customer. That is a problem.
