Clean and Green
A dry cleaner is paving the way to greener pastures one shirt at a time.
Entrepreneurs: Rusty Perry, 35; Noel Bennett, 37; Steve
Madsen, 46; and Dave Askman, 43, founders of Revolution
Cleaners in Denver
Description: An environmentally friendly dry-cleaning
business
Startup: $750,000 in August 2003
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2005 projected sales: $900,000
Spin cycle: In the dry-cleaning business, clothing is the
name of the game, but Rusty Perry, along with his fellow Revolution
Cleaners co-founders, is putting a spin on things by caring as much
for the environment as for the fabrics he cleans. According to
Perry, Revolution Cleaners stands out as the only dry cleaner in
Colorado to use liquid carbon dioxide, an alternative to
perchloroethylene, the industry's standard yet potentially
carcinogenic cleaning solvent. Taking it up a notch, they also fuel
their delivery trucks with biodiesel made from farm-produced corn,
canola and mustard seed; their laundry bags and staff uniforms are
100 percent hemp; and they use quickly renewable resources like
bamboo and cork in the build-out of their stores.
Pressed to serve: The founders keep the details of their
business spotless, including the way customers are treated. With
backgrounds in law, insurance and real estate, they were once
frequent dry-clean customers themselves and had all too often been
on the receiving end of poor service. "We almost invariably
came away feeling used and abused," says Perry.
"We're hoping to build a substantially different
dry-cleaning business."
Talking 'bout a revolution: The team is hip, trendy
and ready to iron out some wrinkles in the industry. They've
met with investors to discuss expanding beyond their four Colorado
locations, and they've also met with local politicians to work
at getting initiatives passed. "There's a chance to clean
up a really dirty industry and do the right thing," says
Perry. "And we think doing the right thing is good
business."