Dry Clean Green with Max I. Walker

Max I. Walker has proudly served the Omaha metro for more than 100 years. In this time, there have been many advances that make dry cleaning technology more green. Consumer preferences have changed as well, and our leadership recognizes this and continues to implement business practices that reflect the concerns and values of the community to which we all belong, without sacrificing quality.

The Max I. Walker team believes it is our responsibility to take steps toward lessening our impact on the environment in the process of doing business. We strive to adopt new, more environmentally friendly ideas and options as they come to market.

EcoSolv® Dry Cleaning Fluid

Max I. Walker uses a hydrocarbon dry cleaning solution, called EcoSolv®, to dry clean clothes. The decision was made to switch to this fluid several years ago, because EcoSolv® is:

• A hydrogen- and carbon-based formulation that is ultimately biodegradable
• Virtually odor-free
• Non-toxic; poses no risk to water, air or people
• Generates an estimated 80% less waste than other dry cleaning fluids
• The by-product of the spent fluid is renewed into energy by local power plants

Additionally, EcoSolv® is gentle on fabric, which means no shrinkage or fading – ultimately making your clothes look better for longer. An estimated 80 pounds of clothing are discarded by the average American citizen yearly. When clothes are not reused or recycled, they end up in landfills, where they take hundreds of years to biodegrade. Longer lasting clothes means less textile waste, a growing concern for environmentalists.

Metal Hanger Reuse Program

Simply bring back any hangers you may have received from previous dry cleaning and we’ll reuse them. This green program not only reduces waste, but reusing hangers means we don't have to purchase new, and we can pass that reduced operating cost on to our customers. While you may think to recycle the hangers, many curbside recycling programs do not pick up wire hangers, so to ensure they don’t end up in a landfill we suggest bringing them to any Max I. Walker location.

Go Green® 2-in-1 Garment Bag

We recognize the impact of single-use plastics on our environment and, just like your neighborhood grocer, we also wish to do our part by offering customers the option to avoid using them.

These reusable bags feature an ingenious design that allows them to be used as both a dirty laundry bag and a protective bag for clean, hung garments. Simply flip the bag upside down, fill it up, and drop it off. We clean your clothes and the bag (no charge), and then hang your items inside, instead of in clear plastic bags. These bags are now available at all Max I. Walker locations. Price is $5.

Reusable Banding System

To ensure customers' orders stayed together, Max I. Walker previously placed twist ties, like the ones found on bread bags, around the hook of all the hangers in an order. We recognized that while these twist ties are small, their impact was great. It was inconvenient for customers to be the one to take care of them when they got their dry cleaning home, by having to remove and dispose of them, and the twist ties are not recyclable. As such, we have switched to a reusable band that we remove in the store when the customer picks up their clothes, and reuse on future orders. For single-item orders, we previously placed an orange (also non-recyclable) sticker around the hanger hook, but have now switched to an orange reusable band. With 22 dry cleaning locations and around 2 million orders per year, this small reduction in waste really adds up.

Digital Coupons

Max I. Walker switched to a more green system of emailing digital coupons to customers several years ago to reduce our paper consumption. Customers are still given the option to print coupons if they like, but if they also wish to save trees, all Max I. Walker stores are equipped with 2D scanners, which allows customers to pull their digital coupons up on a smartphone screen and have them scanned in store, much like airlines now do with electronic boarding passes.

As other options become available to us, we pledge to continue to make environmentally conscious dry cleaning convenient and affordable. Happy Earth Day from Max I. Walker!