Supporting an Essential Service – How GreenEarth Affiliates Navigate Uncertain Times “Your daily newsletter has been one or two days ahead of the curve this whole time” “It’s what I start my day off with – it’s the first thing I look for” These are some comments we have received from members of the GreenEarth Affiliate Network, as we work to maintain a steady stream of relevant, timely information as it applies to the dry cleaning industry and our network of nearly 2,000 retail cleaners world-wide. The high cost and effect of COVID-19 on dry cleaners, launderers, and laundromats is impossible to calculate, and all cleaners big and small, from multi-location package plant operators to Small Town USA’s lone community cleaner have been forced to adapt to reality in a way never before asked of them. Many of these companies have seen sales decline anywhere from 60 to 95% – a shock that has forced some to temporarily close their doors, however in our Network, nearly all are strapping themselves in and holding on while adding new services or adapting old ones to accommodate something we don’t usually think compatible with teamwork – Social Distancing! Since our founding in 1999, GreenEarth Cleaning has been known as a strong member of all professional cleaning associations, counting many of the USA’s largest, multi-generational, and well-run cleaners as our Affiliates. However, the majority of our Network consists of smaller operations with one dry cleaning machine, one washing machine, and a handful of dedicated staff. The one thing all of our Affiliates, big and small, share is a desire to bring good to their town via the environmentally non-toxic GreenEarth Optimized Dry Cleaning System. This desire to do good is encouraged first by our daily email update, which as early as March 3, 2020 first carried information on how the heat of the dry process in dry cleaning is known to inactivate a wide range of bacteria and viruses, and we believe it may also apply to this new virus – COVID-19. Since then we have published 25 additional email-blogs covering topics such as which States and Countries have declared dry cleaning an “Essential Service”, how to apply for PPP and EIDL loans, innovative ways to reach out to your customers when business is anything but normal, and guidance for cleaning contaminated clothing and soft goods. Second, we have dedicated the majority of each working day for our own staff to calling and reaching out to our Affiliates to “take their temperature” and see what specific challenges we can help them overcome. Perhaps they are worried about laying off staff for the first time in their business’s history. Maybe they need to bounce some ideas off someone regarding new ways to deal with pickup and delivery when their customers want contactless transactions. Or, maybe they are searching for the right words to use when talking to their bank or landlord as they seek financial relief. During these calls we have been proud to announce that we are offering free social media management and content so that our less-technologically skilled friends, or those where English is not their first language, can properly reach out to their customers and let them know what they are doing to adapt and that they are OPEN FOR BUSINESS. Third, our Affiliates are buoyed by the knowledge that they have all the tools in the toolbox, so to say, to provide that Essential Service of laundry and softgoods sanitization. First of all, we have hot water laundry, which is supported by both the CDC and the WHO as the preferred means of cleaning potentially-contaminated clothing. We also have a safe, gentle dry cleaning process using 100% Pure D-5 liquid silicone using a computer-controlled drying process that ramps up to an inlet drying temperature of 85C (outlet temperature of 70C) for 30 minutes – sufficient for inactivating all but the very heartiest of pathogens, according to the WHO. We achieve this by taking advantage of our 77C flashpoint, which is higher than nearly all other dry cleaning solvents in use today. Lastly, many of our Affiliates are already well-versed in advanced cleaning methods such as using their Bloodborne Pathogen training or the use of dedicated ozone rooms for decontamination. These tools and expertise, coupled with the ability to turn out large amounts of work in a short time, is what makes our Affiliates Essential in their communities. Most of our team are current or former dry cleaners, and while we cannot solve everything in a day, our experience is respected and comforting to real people who are seeing unprecedented challenges to their livelihood, the ability to employ people they consider family, and taking care of the many customers they know by name – who no longer have much need for a dry cleaner until they, too, can get back to work. While our Affiliate Network is our own family, our hearts go out to all in our industry affected by COVID-19. Together, we will get through this and on the other side, I am sure that those dry cleaners and launders who refuse to quit, have been actively promoting themselves, and adapting to this reality, no matter how crazy the solution was, will find themselves in an ideal, lean and trim position moving forward. Andrew Lien Technical Director GreenEarth Cleaning