Retailers & Textile Manufacturers

Fashion Retailers & Textile Manufacturers

Several of our key fashion retailers and textile manufacturer clients now recommend that their products are tested and cleaned using Johnsons GreenEarth® technology. Key buying and production decisions are made across the industry informed by our knowledge.

As strong supporters and members of the ASBCI (Association of Suppliers to the British Clothing Industry) and TSA (Textile Services Association) amongst others, Johnson Cleaners for Business is a high profile and well-trusted ambassador for garment and textile aftercare in the UK.

GreenEarth® Dry Cleaning is the Choice of the Clothing Industry

GreenEarth® is a different kind of dry clean that can benefit fashion retailers and their customers alike. The process uses pure liquid silicone, a natural by product of sand; chemically inert with very low surface tension, so it carries away dirt without being abrasive or aggressive – perfectly clean and kinder to delicate and embellished fabrics. GreenEarth® is a real alternative to harsh petroleum based chemicals such as Perchloroethylene (Perc) scientifically proven to clean just as effectively.

The best part about GreenEarth® compared to traditional dry cleaning is that colours are not stripped away; they stay bright and true, so even after cleaning the designs stay looking as the designer and manufacturer intended - and the customers' clothes are much more likely to remain looking like the day they were bought. With particular materials and embellishments, there can be a marked difference in the same items when cleaned in GreenEarth® versus Perc.

Johnson Cleaners are a founding member of GreenEarth® and the master licensor in the UK, but we understand that retailers sell their ranges internationally and require any recommendation to be supported worldwide. Fortunately, GreenEarth® has a global network of affiliated dry cleaners using the technology in more than thirty countries - and counting! Get in touch if you are interested in recommending an environmentally friendly, non-toxic aftercare programme for your product.

Care Labelling - Why Retailers Recommend Us

When you look at a care label, you are more and more likely to see a GreenEarth® or Johnson Cleaners recommendation alongside the 'dry clean only' symbol.

Responsible organisations with the textile industry are considering the environmental impact of their product. Over the lifecycle of a garment, the aftercare can represent a bigger proportion of that impact than the manufacturing process. As members of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition through our relationship with GreenEarth®, we are working to help manufacturers reduce this impact.

As more and more retailers understand not only the environmental advantages but also the increased design flexibility that GreenEarth® offers - incorporation of delicate fabrics and leathers, intricate detailing and finishing, bright and true colours even after cleaning - Johnson Cleaners have moved beyond garment testing to supporting on the wording and design of care labels. GreenEarth® cleaning at Johnson Cleaners is now recommended on ranges from many high street and designer stores.

In particular, embellished garments and suede and leather items are featuring GreenEarth® and Johnson Cleaners recommendations, as we provide the perfect after care solution for these much in demand items. At the same time, this decision to recommend has many other benefits:

- Recommending a safe and reliable form of textile and garment aftercare
- Supporting environmental commitments and responsible manufacturing
- Increased customer satisfaction

Garment & Textile Testing

The UK Clothing and Textile market is a fast paced and constantly changing landscape, and suppliers and manufacturers are continuously pushing boundaries to ensure their products appeal to the market. Such a demanding customer audience drives a need for innovation in design and constant supply of exciting new textiles and fabrics to satisfy customer demand. This ever changing and increasingly creative process brings with it challenges in terms of how fabrics, dyes, accessories and decorations will behave during the cleaning process.

Care labels are created to give both the customer and dry cleaner the best guidance in aftercare for both clothing and home interiors. But before this can be done, testing across a broad range of cleaning methods needs to take place to assess the item's performance.

Johnsons work with our clothing retailer and textile manufacturing / importer customers to develop a process for testing new garments before they are prepared for the market. Our unique testing facilities in the UK employ fabric and garment technologists who work with customers to understand how their products perform during the cleansing cycle. Over the last ten years, Johnson Cleaners have increasingly carried out testing to show the difference between GreenEarth® cleaning and Perchloroethylene (Perc).

This activity can determine the likelihood of a garment withstanding the cleaning processes, influencing design choices to ensure the future satisfaction of retailers’ customers. Some of the retailers we have worked with include Next, Whistles, The White Company, John Smedley, LK Bennett.

Rectification and Restoration Services

Johnson Cleaners have the equipment, facilities and expertise to support textile retailers and manufacturers beyond testing and care labelling, with rectification and restoration services. Both services are based in our Specialist Centre in Ruby, a 24,000 square foot facility employing over fifty fabric care professionals.

Recification

Clothing manufacture is a complicated business and, unfortunately, sometimes the stock that arrives for sale is not exactly as per the signed off design sample. For rectification, our business is prepared to respond to an immediate need from a retailer or manufacturer. From damage to a shipping container that has caused contamination in transport to incorrectly applied labels or trims, our business is prepared to respond to immediate needs, including:

- Managing dye run issues
- Reproofing
- Badge removal / relocation
- Cleaning of contaminated stock
- Odour removal
- Mould / mildew removal

We have a purpose-built Ozone chamber for odour removal and clean using GreenEarth® or if necessary clean by hand. We can also repackage and retag, to ensure that the merchandise is ready to go on the rails. By providing this service, not only do we avoid the additional cost of producing stock but we protect a retailers revenue by ensuring that the product is in store ready for the range launch.

Restoration

Johnson Cleaners have a Restoration Business, which primarily deals with commercial and domestic insurance arrangements, often relation to fire and flood incidents or indeed something like a burst water pipe. Every day our team works with insurers and loss adjusters to ensure that much treasured items can be returned to their former glory, whether it’s a rug that’s been in the family for generations or a favourite cuddly toy. So if a manufacturer or retailer experiences a fire or flood at one of their stores - or even if stock is smoke-damaged due to a nearby incident, we are ideally placed to provide support.

Brands We Work With

Johnson Cleaners have worked with many brands over many years, supporting with aftercare advice and garment testing to improve customer satisfaction post-purchase. The completion of the roll-out of GreenEarth® to all Johnson Cleaners stores in 2013 has cemented our position as the authority on dry cleaning and aftercare for many high street manufacturers and retailers. As we as garment and fabric testing, we provide care labelling support. GreenEarth® at Johnson Cleaners is the recommended aftercare solution for relevant dry-clean-only ranges. Some of these brands include: Next, LK Bennett, Whistles, Asos, French Connection, and Wallis.