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HUGE Groupon Sale: 50% Off TODAY ONLY!

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 10:27:00 -0400

We've got some big news for you today!

The Green Garmento is one of today's exclusive Groupon deals, and you get to save $$$ because of it!

You can get two bags for just $10 plus flat rate shipping / 4.00... that's a 50% savings!!

Choose from our most popular colors & sizes: Blue Water 40" and Green Grass 48"

Remember: This SALE IS TODAY ONLY! You have to buy it from Groupon and redeem (starting friday) on our site.

<a href="http://bit.ly/bv137d">CLICK HERE TO CHECK IT OUT NOW!</a>

<img src = "http://i806.photobucket.com/albums/yy346/GreenGarmento/2PACK.jpg">

And as always: Be Fantastic... Use Less Plastic!

Making The Case for Reusable Bags

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 20:25:00 -0400

At the opening-night party of the recent Southwestern Drycleaners Association (SDA) Cleaners Showcase (I go to the swankiest soirées), an official said he was going to give me one opportunity — and only one — to explain why he should use a reusable garment bag.

But when I ran into him on the exhibition floor the next morning, I told him I couldn’t sleep — not because Dallas barbeque doesn’t agree with me, but because I believed he had the question backwards. “You have one opportunity,” I said, “after our conversation last night, to explain why anyone would ever use single-use poly instead of reusable garment bags.”

The official paused, then said, “Good question. I have no idea why.”

“My point exactly,” I said. “Imagine a world in which drycleaners had never protected their clients’ clothes and were introduced to the two processes simultaneously.

“First, they could continually buy thousands of very thin, clear, plastic bags and twist-ties to hold the orders together, and a similar amount of garment covers. Oh, and the drycleaner should provide their best customers with another bag to put all of their dirty clothes in — maybe calling it a delivery bag, or express bag, or VIP bag, if they prefer.

“Or, alternatively, the drycleaner could start using ecofriendly reusable bags. These bags would go back and forth from home to plant, serving as customers’ hamper bags at home, as their duffel bags for the dirty clothes’ trip to the drycleaner, and morphing into a hanging garment bag to protect the clean clothes for the ride back home.

“As the bags keep the orders together and protected, there’s no need for twist-ties, shoulder covers or single-use poly, and now every customer has route bags, making them all VIPs. Plus, since the bags are water-resistant and breathable, they protect the clothes better, as well as any children or animals be exposed to the bags.

“The costs are different, but not in the way you might expect. Keeping a full supply of the needed poly bags, twist-ties, shoulder covers and express bags costs a drycleaner with about 1,000 customers somewhere between $25,000 and $35,000 a year. Buying three personalized reusable bags for 1,000 customers cost $15,000 to $18,000 in Year 1, depending on which brand and size they buy.

“In Year 2 and beyond, the drycleaner will need to spend another $5,000 to $6,000 — about 30% of their original purchase — for new customers and replacement bags. So the single-use poly bag system will cost about $100,000 over three years to protect and ship customers’ clothes, versus less than $40,000 if they choose the reusable bag system.

“One last thing about costs,” I continued. “As there’s a perceived value to reusable drycleaning bags — they can even be used for weekend trips — drycleaners can, if they choose, ask their clients to pay for the bags, turning the protection of their clean clothes into a profit center.”

Full disclosure: My wife, Jennie, and I started The Green Garmento thinking it was important to try to lessen the amount of single-use plastic that ends up in our landfills and waterways. But after learning more about how drycleaning works, we realized that “greenness” was just part of the story.

Customers will no longer have closet floors filled with garment covers and poly. Nor will they get frustrated when they’re late and the shirt they want to wear is stuck to the most twist-tied twist-tie in the history of twist-ties. Or think that when they can’t find their slacks in the closet, it’s because they dropped them in the parking lot.

Yes, reusable bags are better for the environment. But more important, reusable bags — especially reusable bags with your company’s name on them — aid in your marketing and branding efforts. And most important, lessening your dependence on single-use poly, twist-ties, shoulder garment covers and VIP bags will save you money — and lots of it.

The advantages of the single-use poly bag? It’s cheaper to get started, and it’s easier to see what’s been cleaned or laundered. But do they compare to the benefits of this new category of bags? While I am admittedly invested in the answer, I don’t think so.

It’s like the way people’s main mode of transportation changed from horse and buggy to the automobile at the beginning of the 20th century. I believe we are now seeing a transition from transporting drycleaning from single-use to reusable bags. And with good reason.

Contact: <a href= "mailto:rick@thegreengarmento.com">rick@thegreengarmento.com</a>

Drycleaners Enjoy Multiple Benefits of Reusable Garment Bags

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 15:02:00 -0400

Cleaners Find Reusable Bags Increase Their Customer Loyalty, Sends A “Green” Message, and Boosts Their Bottom Line

AT FIRST, A DRYCLEANER’S DECISION TO OFFER REUSABLE GARMENT BAGS INSTEAD OF SINGLE-USE POLY BAGS MAY SEEM LIKE AN IDEA ROOTED ONLY IN AN ATTEMPT TO BE ECO-FRIENDLY.

But as those who have made the transition can attest, the benefits just begin there. When The New York Times interviewed Jason Lafer from Linders French Cleaners of Bernardsville, New Jersey, he shared some pretty staggering statistics about the success of his reusable bag program.

In November 2009, in a move he calls “Greenvenient,” Lafer introduced The Green Garmento™ to his delivery customers. To his surprise, he soon received over 50 phone calls of praise. “You usually only hear from people when they have a complaint,” he said, happy the initiative added to his customers’ good feelings about his business.

Adding to the drycleaner’s branding efforts is a common theme. David Meyer from Elite Cleaners of Phoenix, Arizona says of reusable garment bags, “I finally found an item that you can't live without… Imagine selling your customer a product and having them THANK YOU. In my 30 years in drycleaning I have never seen a product give our industry such good PR.”

Of course, there is a clear ecological advantage. Seth Friedman from Rye Ridge Cleaners of Port Chester, New York states, “By offering The Green Garmento™ to my customers, it has established me as the go to "green cleaner" in my area. In the first year, these reusable bags have saved [my business] over 23,000 poly bags, 875 lbs. A large savings to me in costs, and a win for our environment.”

Lafer tells a similar story: in the months since introducing The Green Garmento™, Linder’s has decreased their single-use poly consumption by over 35 percent. “Imagine if you multiply that by all the cleaners in the nation,” he said.

We may not have to imagine that for long.

According to The Green Garmento’s Rick Siegel, the company’s projected sales should reach 300,000 units by 2012. “We work with drycleaners of all shapes and sizes,” says Siegel. The company is able to attract drycleaners, big and small by offering a growing catalogue of four sizes and six colors. The Green Garmento™, first sold only direct to drycleaners, is now beginning to saturate the market through alliances with drycleaning distributors. “It wasn’t the easiest conversation to have. Distributors sell a lot of single use poly bags, twist ties, garment covers, and VIP/delivery bags – all of which are replaced by the use of reusable bags.“

David Mindich, president of New York-based Minda Supply, explains why they signed on. “I knew if it wasn’t Minda selling these bags, someone else will. So not only wouldn’t we be selling the poly, we wouldn’t be selling the customer.”

After visiting The Green Garmento’s booth at the CLEANshow,AJ Jamal fromNew York’s Royal King Cleaners ordered his first lot of custom bags. Says Jamal, “I just opened a new store and there is no doubt in my mind that TheGreenGarmento™ has actually helped me drive people in…I personally feel good about getting people in the green bag exchange program everyday; saving money on poly is
just a side effect of doing the right thing.”

Whether the drycleaner takes a deposit, sells the bags or gives it to their VIP’s, with minimal marketing, the bags are proving a hit with drycleaning customers. Gary Futterman from Flair Cleaners of Los Angeles, California, for example, sold out of his first 1,000 bags in just three weeks. Sheena Maclean of The Green Shirt Cleaners of Denver, Colorado says, “The bags are walking advertisements for our store. We love seeing people walking down the street carrying their green bags.”

This piece originally appeared in Fabricare's July-Aug 2010 Issue

Click <a href= "http://www.facebook.com/thegreengarmento">HERE</a> to "LIKE" us on Facebook!

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Join The Green GIVEmento! Help us find charities in need of our bags.

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 14:00:00 -0400

Earlier this week Team Green Garmento had a little pow-wow and we came to the realization that our warehouse is looking a little bit like the land of the misfit bags.

Nothing’s wrong with them really, they just aren’t quite up to snuff to sell to our customers. Some bags may have printing that’s a little wonky, draw strings that are a little too long, stitching that doesn’t match – ya know, that kind of stuff. Some would call them seconds, we prefer to call them interesting.

Anyway, we’d like to find a home for these lovely reusable dry cleaning bags that time forgot. And we need your help.

Please email us or leave a comment with your favorite charity or school or temple, or church or hospital or shelter that may need some 4-in-1 reusable bags. We’ll contact the organization and if it’s a fit and they can help us deliver or pick up the bags, they are theirs to keep, sell, giveaway, whatever they prefer!

Make sure to "like" our new Facebook page and leave your suggestions there! - <a href= "http://www.facebook.com/thegreengarmento">http://www.facebook.com/thegreengarmento</a>;

Thanks for caring and stay tuned for updates.

~Jennie

Take them to cleaners, again and again

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 19:16:00 -0400

Fathers Day is on its way! Make Dad happy with our "Father's Day Twofer!" ONLY $16.00
Click <a href= "http://www.thegreengarmento.com/BASE/ZC/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1">HERE</a> To Buy Now!

The Green Garmento was featured in The New York Times Business Section!

TAKE THEM TO THE CLEANERS AGAIN AND AGAIN
By Amy Wallace

Man or woman, every one of us has experienced the frustration that drove Rick Siegel to become an inventor. He would be in his clothes closet, running late, wrestling with the plastic bags that encased — and the twist ties that entangled — his dry cleaning. Surely, he thought, those twist ties would drive him mad.

“He’d freak out,” said his wife, Jennie Nigrosh, recalling the typical harried morning. “Scream is a good word.”

Familiar, too, is the guilt that Ms. Nigrosh felt when she tried to intervene. Her husband is 6-foot-4, meaning that if the artist Christo did an installation using the plastic film around just six of Mr. Siegel’s suits, he could easily wrap your garage. Ms. Nigrosh’s father ran a cardboard recycling factory when she was growing up, so a trip to the closet made her stomach clench: Where did all this plastic go?

Suddenly Mr. Siegel, who was once a Hollywood talent manager, and his wife, a marketing copywriter in the music industry, had an idea: a reusable bag to transport your clothes to and from the dry cleaner. After an initial investment of about $200,000, the Green Garmento was born.

“June 2008, we got our first prototype,” Ms. Nigrosh recalls of the Christmas-morning-like feeling she had when they opened it. Then came disaster.

“It ripped,” Mr. Siegel said, grimacing.

“Gi-normous rippage,” agreed Ms. Nigrosh.

“We went from heaven to ‘Oh, no!’ in five seconds,” said Mr. Siegel.

Two years and several design improvements later, they say they’ve sold about 40,000 Green Garmentos — priced at about $5 wholesale, $9.99 retail — and expect to sell an additional 300,000 more by July 2011. And in March, they got their first outside financing, other than $100,000 that’s come from friends: $350,000 from a small cap investment fund put together by the Progressive Asset Management Group, a brokerage firm that specializes in what it sees as socially responsible investing.

The fund, which Mr. Siegel hopes will eventually raise $900,000 for the company, promises investors a 30 percent annual return on their money until it is repaid — via the first 9 percent of gross revenue.

Just as important, Mr. Siegel and Ms. Nigrosh say, they’ve begun to alter how a very set-in-its-ways industry thinks about doing business. For the Green Garmento to succeed requires not just a customer base, after all, but also a cultural shift within the dry-cleaning world. After all, a reusable bag, unlike disposable plastic, must be kept track of and returned to its owner.

The Green Garmento is not the first reusable cleaner bag. There’s a nylon rival out there, for example, called the Converta Bag that Mr. Siegel says he didn’t know about until they were already committed to their bag. (The Green Garmento is made of polypropylene, a recycled product derived from oil sludge.)

Mr. Siegel, 53, and Ms. Nigrosh, 44, say they’re glad for the competition. They’re trying to do more than make money. They’re trying to change the world.

“Single-use plastic at dry cleaners has gotten a pass,” Mr. Siegel said. “We’re not so much selling our bag as publicizing the concept of the bag.”

According to an analysis of 2005 census figures by the Drycleaning and Laundry Institute, 1.4 billion pieces of clothing and other items are professionally cleaned in the United States each year. If you figure that most cleaners wrap no more than two pieces in a bag, that’s at least 700 million bags a year, or 131 million pounds of plastic gathering dust in the back of our closets. At 5 to 8 cents a bag — plus twist ties and the like — that adds up, which is why even nonenvironmentally minded dry cleaners may be open to making the switch.

That means opportunity, said Mr. Siegel, who says hotels and cruise lines are Green Garmento’s other target customers. “If we can make it the Q-Tip, Kleenex or Xerox of the industry,” he said, “ours will be a $10 million-a-year company.”

Here’s how Jason Lafer introduced the Green Garmento to customers of his Linders French Cleaners in Bernardsville, N.J.: Last November, he informed his 730 pick-up-and-delivery clients that they’d be receiving no more plastic on their clothes. Instead, in a move he called “Greenvenient,” customers received two Green Garmento bags emblazoned with the Linders logo (for which he charged them $7 a bag).

Of those 730 customers, only 29 objected. Mr. Lafer, meanwhile, said he got double that number of phone calls of praise, which he found refreshing. “You usually only hear from people when they have a complaint,” he said.

In the months since, he’s decreased his plastic consumption by 69,020 bags, or more than 35 percent.

“Imagine if you multiply that by all the cleaners in the nation,” he said.

Mr. Siegel and Ms. Nigrosh are aware that as newcomers to the industry, they have much to learn. “We know we could be seen as Mr. and Mrs. Hollywood,” Ms. Nigrosh said, explaining why she spends so much time talking to established dry cleaners. “They’ve taught us a lot.”

But in this eco-image-conscious town, where the Prius is the car of choice for many an A-lister, they’d also be crazy not to reach out to entertainment industry players they know. Mr. Siegel spent 19 years as a manager, helping to develop the careers of talk show host Craig Ferguson, among others; Ms. Nigrosh has worked for Warner Brothers Records.

Recently, the couple got word that the Green Garmento may have landed its first product placement. Unless the scene is cut, it will be seen on a bus bench in a future episode of the Showtime series “Weeds.”

Talk about green.

E-mail: proto@nytimes.com.

<a href= "http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/13/business/13proto.html">READ THE ORIGINAL POST HERE</a>

"Degradable" Plastic not so fantastic

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 15:42:00 -0400

The following article is from:
http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?id=17804

Plastic bags marked as degradable may not be as environmentally-friendly as consumers think, according to new research.

Oxo-degradable plastics, which include additives to speed break down, may not break down fast enough and could have a negative effect on the environment a government funded study by Loughborough University says.

The report says: "The overall conclusion of this review is that incorporation of additives into petroleum-based plastics that cause those plastics to undergo accelerated degradation does not improve their environmental impact and potentially gives rise to certain negative effects."

It describes the term 'biodegradable' as 'virtually meaningless' as the rates of degradation in materials are so different.

It suggests either more detail about the type of biodegradability is put on labels or the word is dropped and replaced with disposal instructions.
The report says incineration is the best option for oxo-degradable plastics with landfill the next best option.

Environment minister, Dan Norris, said: "As these plastics cannot be composted, the term 'biodegradable' can cause confusion.

"Incorrect disposal of oxo-degradable plastics has the potential to negatively affect both recycling and composting facilities.
"We hope this research will discourage manufacturers and retailers from claiming that these materials are better for the environment than conventional plastics."

Supermarket chain the Co-operative has pledged to stop using the plastic.

Co-op environment manager, Iain Ferguson, said: "We have already decided to stop purchasing carrier bags with the oxo-biodegradable additive and with the support of our customers and staff we have reduced carrier bag numbers by 60 per cent in the last three years."

Products made from compostable plastic are tested and able to bio-degrade within six months.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs says updated guidance for businesses on making accurate claims about how green their products will be out for consultation this year.

The report, Assessing the Environmental Impacts of Oxo-degradable Plastics Across their Life Cycle, was published last Thursday (March 11).

To read it in full go to:
http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Default.aspx?Menu=Menu&Module=More&Location=None&Completed=0&ProjectID=16263#Description

David Gibbs

Change is Hard: Seattle Voters Defeat Referendum on Plastic Bag Charge

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 08:00:00 -0400

<h1>Change is Hard: Seattle Voters Defeat Referendum on Plastic Bag Charge </h1>On Wednesday, August 19, the voters of Seattle Washington had the unique opportunity to vote on a referendum to institute a $0.20 charge per plastic bag used at grocery and drug stores. Unfortunately, the referendum was defeated by 53%. The group leading the charge against the referendum is The Progressive Bag Affiliates, a subsidiary of the American Chemistry Council. The ACC spent $1.4 million dollars to defeat the $0.20 charge. According to the <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hZSdKkN-yEvs1cbmyblt2aCcvHGgD9A66V6G0" target="_blank" title="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hZSdKkN-yEvs1cbmyblt2aCcvHGgD9A66V6G0">Associated Press</a> "this is the largest contribution to a local ballot measure in recent history. Supporters raised about $93,000."  Reminds me a little of <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/09/13/MNG7FL4KQO1.DTL" target="_blank" title="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/09/13/MNG7FL4KQO1.DTL">Phillip Morris and Prop 86</a> back in 2006. Another responsible party for this pro-plastic bag movement is an organization called <a href="http://www.savetheplasticbag.com/" title="www.savetheplasticbag.com">www.savetheplasticbag.com</a>.  This website has a grass roots appearance and is run mainly by Stephen Joseph, an attorney from San Francisco whose credentials include removing graffiti and banning trans fats. And after reading his resume, you almost want to like the guy. That is until he mentions that he was approached by the plastic manufacturing companies including Elkay Plastics Co. and Grand Packaging to spearhead this "cause." Joseph initially declined. But then after reading one article in the <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article3508263.ece" target="_blank" title="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article3508263.ece">London Times</a>, and "researching on the internet" he reconsidered. Sighting on his website that  "He changed his mind and agreed to represent the industry and concerned citizens to get the truth out to the public. He is concerned that activists have become obsessed with plastic bags and are failing to disclose inconvenient environmental truths to the public and politicians. Spreading environmental misinformation is simply wrong." Indeed. I am sure that he isn't taking a salary from the plastic manufacturing companies. No, he's being compensated by warm fuzzy feelings. If you were to go to<a href="http://www.savetheplasticbag.com/" target="_blank" title="www.savetheplasticbag.com"> www.savetheplasticbag.com</a> you would see their logo of a heart on plastic bag and find that their coalition... "was formed in June 2008. It is a group of businesses and citizens who are concerned about the environmental misinformation being spread in the anti-plastic bag campaign." The site goes on to explain how plastic isn't really that bad for the environment and even tries to debunk the famous picture of a turtle with a plastic bag in its mouth sighting that "We don't know where the photograph came from. We can't tell if the turtle is eating a plastic bag or something else. We can't even tell whether the photograph is authentic." And that "Plastic grocery bags were introduced thirty years ago. If plastic bags are such a huge problem for marine mammals and seabirds as the anti-plastic bag activists maintain, then there would be thousands of photographs by now." Well, plastic bags may be thirty years old but the pedestrian use of the internet is only about 12 years old. Furthermore, if one were to Google "plastic bag marine life" you would find thousands of sad pictures.<a href="http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff80/talkinitback/seallion-1.jpg" target="_blank" title="http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff80/talkinitback/seallion-1.jpg"> Like this one</a>. The reason that I am writing this entry is not because I want to bash Save The Plastic Bag or Stephen Joseph. I am writing it to raise awareness about where you get your information when making your decision at the ballots. And that many times, (we have seen it all through history and are seeing it right now in Washington) groups that appear to have the interest of the tax payer are actually large companies that are bankrolling the charge of their own bottom line. Granted, I work for a reusable dry-cleaning bag company and referendums like the one in Seattle will help <a href="http://www.thegreengarmento.com/" title="http://www.thegreengarmento.com/">The Green Garmento's</a> bottom line. However, TGG got into business because The President and the CEO are passionate about waste reduction. And rest assured, no one at TGG is flying in private jets or getting six figure bonuses. Okay well, we do have "Food Friday" when TGG buys lunch for all 3 of us at the office. As stated in the title; change is hard. I watch my pennies like everyone else and I don't love the idea of paying for something that used to be free, But once you put a value on something, you treat it better and you reuse it. You are a lot less likely to throw it in the trash or "forget" your re-usable bags. Change is hard when convenience justifies our actions and you feel as if "I'm just one person." It's easy to avoid doing what's right when we don't see the immediate gratification of our do-gooder deeds. I am with you, I understand. I am not super eco-green girl who lives off the grid. I am a modern American who is willing to make the sacrifice of $0.20 to help our environment. Change is hard. But change is necessary. Now for the plug: Get your FREE Green Garmento by going to: <a href="http://www.thegreengarmento.com/BASE/SS/get-free-bags/">http://www.thegreengarmento.com/BASE/SS/get-free-bags/</a>;   Sources: <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hZSdKkN-yEvs1cbmyblt2aCcvHGgD9A66V6G0" title="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hZSdKkN-yEvs1cbmyblt2aCcvHGgD9A66V6G0">http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hZSdKkN-yEvs1cbmyblt2aCcvHGgD9A66V6G0</a>; <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/09/13/MNG7FL4KQO1.DTL">http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/09/13/MNG7FL4KQO1.DTL</a>; <a href="http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff80/talkinitback/seallion-1.jpg">http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff80/talkinitback/seallion-1.jpg</a>; <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article3508263.ece">http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article3508263.ece</a>; <a href="http://www.savetheplasticbag.com/" title="www.savetheplasticbag.com">http://www.savetheplasticbag.com/</a>;

Drycleaners Phase Out Plastic and Improve Profits With The Green Garmento Reusable Drycleaning Bag

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 15:24:00 -0400

Created to eliminate single-use plastic from drycleaning in the same way
smaller totes do for groceries, The Green Garmento is having a second
surprisingly positive impact: improving drycleaners' revenue. As a
result, just six months from its introduction, the product is fast
becoming a must-have for America's drycleaners.

Green Apple Cleaners, New York City's acknowledged leader in
eco-drycleaning, recently purchased 1,000 personalized Garmentos. As Green
Apple president Chris Skelley explains, "These bags work for everyone. The
hamper and duffel bag features are great for our customers, the side
zipper makes it easy for our staff and the logo gives us an advertising
presence. This is consistent with all of our other environmental
initiatives, any economic gain is a welcome bonus."

According to Victor Seyedin, owner of Lake City Cleaners, Chicago's
pre-eminent green drycleaner, "In 2008 I spent over $35,000 protecting my
clients' clothes. And each year these costs have increased. For $15,000,
I can replace my single use bags, garment covers and route bags with Green
Garmentos, then next year invest only $5,000 in replacement bags and for
new customers."

While the potential to save up to 40% in the first year and 80% every year
thereafter is attractive, the program only works because of consumer
enthusiasm. Bobby Sperling of Brentwood Royal Cleaners in Brentwood,
California says, "Our customers love them. The Green Garmento complements
our determination to be 'green' and having a stylish alternative gives us
a major competitive advantage."

Husband and wife team Rick Siegel and Jennie Nigrosh, The Green Garmento's
creators, believe this is the beginning of a sea change. Siegel thinks
reusable bags "will become the standard for transporting clothes.
Currently, all legislation created to tax or prohibit single use plastic
exempts drycleaning bags. As people learn there's a reusable alternative,
that exception may disappear."

The positive impact is undeniable: every drycleaner that transitions to
The Green Garmento eliminates five to ten thousand pounds of plastic
otherwise headed for our landfills. And this change is not just domestic,
but global: Nigrosh reports distributor inquiries from around the world.
"Already we have a distributor in Singapore and are speaking with
potential distributors in Australia, Mexico, Uruguay, throughout Europe
and even Botswana. We have a simple goal: to have a sustainable business
that helps make a more sustainable world."

Hollywood Goes Green!

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 13:52:00 -0400

At least two major Hollywood studios have hit on a cost-efficient way to
cultivate good will among their environmentally conscious employees and
the vocal and dedicated green actors who work on their lots. Both 20th
Century Fox and Universal have turned over their tons of annual
dry-cleaning to a local company committed to eliminating single use
plastic dry-cleaning bags, 300 million pounds of which overflow land
fills and clog waterways in the United States every year.

For Earth Day this year, eco-friendly La Cienega Studio Cleaners Dmitry
Tokar introduced to the studios The Green Garmento, the first affordable,
reusable, multi-purpose garment bag that can efficiently replace the
dreaded single-use plastic bags. In a pre-Earth Day event on the Fox lot,
Tokar offered free samples of the Garmento, which is designed to hold
multiple garments and is easily loaded and unloaded through a full-length
zippered side opening. "The feedback was overwhelming," recalls Tokar. "By
the end of the day, people from production companies to support staff to
executives had all signed a waiting list for a Green Garmento."

With Fox productions like "House" and "Bones," NBC/Universal's "Tonight
Show," and dozens of other series at HBO, CBS, Sony, Warner Bros. and
Paramount on his client list, Tokar becomes one of the most visible signs
of the increasing greening of corporate Hollywood. Every La Cienega Studio
Cleaners wardrobe delivery in a Green Garmento is a reminder that the
entertainment industry is welcoming practical, inexpensive, effective
solutions.

About The Green Garmento:

Introduced in October 2008 to the dry cleaning industry, THE GREEN
GARMENTO first serves as a hamper, then transforms into a duffel to carry
clothes to a dry cleaner, then morphs into a hanging garment bag to
protect the clean clothes for the trip home. www.thegreengarmento.com

About La Cienega Studio Cleaners:

The West Hollywood-based business has been servicing the motion picture
and television industries for over 30 years and provide service for most
production companies filming in the greater Los Angeles area and services
all Hollywood studio lots.

Jodi here for The Green Garmento

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 15:09:00 -0400

Hi ya’ll! (Too much Texas? I’ll try to rein it in.) So here’s my story. I was born and raised in the great state of Texas, graduated from The University of Texas at Austin (Hook em’ Horns!) in May 2008, and promptly moved out west to Hollywood! I fell in love with the beach and proceeded to have one awesome summer. Then, this little Texas girl took on a big ole’ fashion show national tour- it was crazy! All my time in beautiful Cali got me thinkin’ green, and when the opportunity came up to handle the social networking for The Green Garmento I was instantly on board. I moved back home because I wanted to be near my family. I am so lucky because I get to rock out the Green Garmento all the way from Texas.

I’m super stoked about the Blogmento- I love to write and I am excited to keep learning about what I can do to go green! Here’s where I call in reinforcements – what can YOU tell me about going green? Why is it important to you? What changes have you made in your life? Got any good tips for me?

As for Kermit, I would never want to rumble with Ms. Piggy.

Reminding you to Be Fantastic…Use Less Plastic!
~Jodi

Meet Team Green Garmento

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:45:00 -0400

We'll be introducing you to the members of our Team Green Garmento one blog at a time. Today, meet Jodi. We heart Jodi. She runs our social networking sites and is super cool, smart and sassy. I can say sassy, it's quirky. Some fun Jodi facts: She's from Texas. So if you hear an accent in her blogs, that's why. She's great in front of crowds. She MC'd a huge fashion show we produced together and the crowd loved her more than they loved the guest celeb. Let's see, what else; Oh ya, she's part of Team Green Garmento because she very passionate about all things green. Except Kermit. That's between Jodi and the frog.

OK Jodi, take it away!

Drycleaners are people too

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 00:43:00 -0400

When Rick (my husband) and I started The Green Garmento, we realized it would be a big departure from our day-to-day life working in the entertainment industry. Not only would we have to stop swearing like sailors, we'd have to learn a new, complicated business and speak a whole new language. And we'd have to forge new relationships with a group of people we didn't know. It was a little scary. But from the day we introduced The Green Garmento at The Fabricare Drycleaners Convention in August, we knew we knew everything would be OK.

We met hundreds and hundreds of drycleaning professionals. Mostly store and plant owners. They were families, married couples, grandparents and part-time teachers. They were third generation drycleaners from Las Vegas and brand new store owners in Downtown LA . And there was Rick and Jennie, the outspoken couple from Hollywood, introducing a prototype of an alien product. We were hoping to continue our market research and make the best bag we could, specifically designed with the cleaner's system and needs in mind - and what better place than a convention hall full 'o cleaners.

Everyone was amazing. Not kidding. Truly the nicest, most welcoming group of folks we could have hoped for. Rick's theory for the overwhelming kindness we received is because drycleaners have to be nice to their customers all day so their brain is stuck on nice.

I think there's more to it. Not the least of which is their enthusiasm for the eco-nature of our bags. The cleaners really wanted to learn how to stop plastic waste. They wanted to learn how to make The Green Garmento work with their customers, their systems and their budget.

We got feedback about pockets, zippers, drawstrings, sizes and colors. We learned the difference between a counter bag and poly bag. We learned about Perc and H2O, new machines vs. old machines and so much more.

Needless to say, we are thrilled to be on this journey. Hopefully, we'll help reduce plastic waste and make some good friends along the way.

"Degradable" Plastic is not so fantastic.

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 15:42:58 -0400