The national skills competition judge in Tianjin, President of the Tianjin Dyeing and Cleaning Industry Association, Chi Junliang, recently analyzed that the cleaning enterprises in Tianjin have numerous problems in four aspects: stain removal, clothing pressing, garment dyeing, and weaving. He reminded consumers to pay attention to their rights protection in details.
Stain Removal: Material Cost 10 Times Higher
Currently, professional cleaning enterprises in Tianjin, especially member units recognized by the Tianjin Dyeing and Cleaning Industry Association, use garment stain-removal materials costing more than 300 yuan per bottle, while general large stores use stain removers worth only dozens of yuan, with a price difference reaching 10 times. President Chi Junliang said: "In large stores, using high-quality stain removers can result in color biting on garments and incomplete stain removal."
Weaving: Shortage of Technical Strength
Afterward, due to technical strength reasons, only a few small cleaning stores in Tianjin can provide this service. According to analysis, the current weaving prices in Tianjin vary depending on the fabric type, with the cheapest being several yuan for one inch of weaving, and the most expensive being ten yuan per inch. Well-woven garments have clear patterns, almost indistinguishable by the naked eye, whereas poorly woven ones look like patches. The association reminds consumers to be cautious when dealing with cleaning stores that only accept weaving jobs but cannot provide on-site weaving services, to avoid unnecessary troubles.
Dyeing: Few Stores Operate This Service
Currently, only a portion of cleaning stores in Tianjin offer garment dyeing services. This is mainly due to the retirement or personnel turnover of skilled workers in the industry. Whether a store can provide garment dyeing services is also a sign of its technical strength. Because garment cleaning is a highly technical business, issues such as color biting and fading during washing often require dyeing techniques. For example, after washing, garments may become dull, but adding restorative agents and acid can improve the situation. However, 90% of the stores in Tianjin cannot achieve this.
Ironing: Three Parts Washing Seven Parts Ironing
For consumers, it's common to think that just washing the clothes clean is enough, neglecting the technical requirements of ironing, leading some cleaning stores to not emphasize the ironing process. The association reminds consumers that "three parts washing seven parts ironing" is the technical requirement for ironing. Consumers should set high standards and strict requirements when sending their clothes for cleaning.
After joining the WTO, there is an urgent need to accelerate the development of green cleaning and services.
Since November last year, China has become one of the 144 member countries of the WTO. Joining the WTO means the opening up of China's market. On one hand, the 143 WTO member countries can enter, and on the other hand, we can go global to do business. Doing business means following the GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade), which also includes adhering to its "General Agreement on Trade in Services." Around the supplementary agreements on service trade, China has made commitments to gradually open up the service market. For instance, in the agreement annex 9 regarding China’s accession to the WTO, specific commitments include: ① foreign investors can establish wholly-owned enterprises in the service sector; ② the land use rights for commercial and tourism purposes are 40 years; ③ restrictions on franchising for commercial and retail services will be lifted three years after China joins the WTO; ④ environmental services (including sewage treatment, solid waste disposal, air purification, noise reduction, natural landscape protection, health services, and other environmental protection services) allow investment in enterprise forms where foreign capital can hold minority stakes. The cleaning industry is a general commercial service enterprise. After joining the WTO, it will directly face competition from overseas peers. If our market service is not good, the market will be lost to others. Conversely, if we do well, we can also expand our cleaning services into the markets of the 140+ WTO member countries. Therefore, accelerating the development of the cleaning industry, especially green cleaning, is very important.
During the "15th Five-Year Plan," to respond to the WTO, China needs to accelerate the development of the service industry. In 2000, China's service industry contributed 28% to GDP growth, and if calculated at current prices, it contributed 40%, roughly equal to the contribution rate of the industrial sector, but the proportion still needs to increase. Thus, development needs to accelerate further to raise the contribution rate. Moreover, developing the service industry can absorb more unemployed people, addressing the annual requirement of creating jobs for 8 million people after the "15th Five-Year Plan," which benefits social stability. Over the past 20 years of reform and opening-up, there has been a surplus of industrial labor. During urban enterprise development, for every additional industrial worker, only 0.35 service workers were added, resulting in a ratio of 1:0.35, while in other countries worldwide, the ratio is 1:1.5-2.5. If China's ratio increases to 1:1, the proportion of service employment could rise to 33%. Furthermore, during the early stages of the "15th Five-Year Plan," the service industry needs to grow at an average annual rate of 7.5%, increasing its share of GDP from 33.2% in 2000 to 36%, and the proportion of employed personnel in the entire society from 27.5% in 2000 to 33%. To achieve these goals, the service industry must develop along the lines of marketization, industrialization, internationalization, and urbanization.
Before joining the WTO, China's service trade may encounter technical barriers, primarily reflected in green safety technologies within the cleaning industry. The WTO has a technical barriers agreement known as WTO/TBT, whose purpose is to facilitate international trade through international coordination in technical regulations, standards, qualification procedures, certification, labeling systems, etc., to curb discriminatory technical requirements that act as trade barriers, minimizing and eliminating technical barriers to trade for global economic integration. The WTO/TBT agreement aims at harmonizing technical requirements. Environmental protection has always been a weak link in China's industrial production and service sectors. For example, in garment production design and cleaning services, since the late 1990s, developed agricultural nations have successively enacted laws requiring eco-certification and harmful substance testing for garments entering their markets. The EU's Oeko-Tex 100 environmental standard restricts over 100 types of harmful substances such as residual azo dyes, formaldehyde, nitro compounds, etc. The ISO 14000 system certification certifies the environmental management systems of production service industries and conducts testing, marking, and labeling certifications of products. For a garment cleaning business to possess ISO 14000 environmental system certification and ensure that cleaned garments pass green environmental protection tests represents two "green channels." Only laundry shops that meet these criteria can claim "green laundry" and "green operation."
Regarding green marketing, renowned scholar Peattie defined it in 1992 as "a management process that recognizes, anticipates, and satisfies customer and societal needs in a profitable and environmentally sustainable way." In late 1993, scholar Walter Coddington defined it as "business activities that recognize environmental management as both a responsibility and growth opportunity for the enterprise." It is evident that green marketing starts from the perspective of environmental protection, not only meeting consumer needs and generating profits but also fulfilling long-term environmental protection requirements. Properly handling the conflicts between consumer needs, corporate benefits, and environmental issues involves coordinating the interests of all three parties comprehensively. Traditional corporate operations only consider corporate profits, often ignoring or failing to consider long-term consumer needs and environmental sustainability. Observing how corporate operations continuously evolve, we can see that the development of "green laundry" is inevitable. In the 1950s, corporate operations were seller-market oriented, centered around enterprises. In the 1960s, they began to shift towards market demand orientation. In the 1970s, companies entered modern operations focused on obtaining high profits and market prosperity. However, at this time, with economic development came severe pollution and environmental degradation, harming public long-term interests, leading to calls for "sustainable development" and "ecological principles." In the 1980s, consumption attitudes in developed agricultural nations changed, increasingly focusing on environmental issues. Now, 82% of Germans and 62% of Dutch people consider product environmental pollution when shopping at supermarkets, and 66% of Britons are willing to pay extra for green environmental protection. 84% of Americans prefer purchasing organic vegetables and fruits. In the 1990s, companies entered the era of green marketing, where production must meet contemporary needs without harming future generations' development and create favorable conditions for them. Entering the 21st century, the green economy wave surged, changing people's psychological and conceptual approaches to clothing consumption. Clothing no longer merely satisfies covering, warmth, and aesthetic functions but increasingly emphasizes relaxation, tranquility, safety, health care, and "green" functionality. Nowadays, "green card" clothing products (products certified under the ISO 14000 environmental management system and environmental label product testing) have emerged. For instance, to avoid pollution from perchloroethylene, adhesives, and linen-lined suits have appeared, becoming "green suits" that can be washed with water, setting a good precedent for "green operations."
"Green operations" are a necessity for green product design and manufacturing. "Green products meet specific environmental protection requirements throughout their life cycle, causing minimal harm to ecosystems and human survival, with the highest resource utilization rate and lowest energy consumption." From the definition, it is evident that green products encompass the entire lifecycle of a product, from birth to decay, from waste to regeneration. Secondly, green products are a relative concept, not an absolute one. Resource utilization rates cannot reach 100%, energy consumption cannot be 0%, and pollution elimination cannot be 100% effective. Therefore, green operations are also a relative concept. Whether the laundry industry's environmental management complies with ISO 14000 requirements and whether washed clothes meet Oeko-Tex 100 standards (or domestic HJBZ30-2000 standards) without causing secondary pollution post-washing is crucial. As a green cleaning industry engaged in green operations, you must consider the following for your enterprise: ① Is a fully enclosed dry-cleaning machine used, controlling perchloroethylene usage? ② Does petroleum-based dry-cleaning equipment have environmental safety guarantees? ③ Are pollutants from washing, such as dust and fibers, centrally treated? ④ Is exhaust gas from washing spaces handled? ⑤ Is packaging simplified, and are packaging materials recyclable or reusable? ⑥ What is the risk of explosion from steam generators, distillation tanks, and irons, and are preventive measures in place? ⑦ What is the usage status of phosphate-free detergents in water washing? ⑧ Are auxiliary agents like bleaching, brightening, disinfecting, and sterilizing non-polluting? ⑨ Are dyeing and coloring processes non-polluting, and is mordanting necessary? ⑩ What is the usage status of non-polluting detergents like CO2 and water-based solvents?
The China Environmental Label Certification Committee has the following requirements for clothing products, and similarly, for washed clothing to be considered green:
Ⅰ Clothing products should not undergo chlorine bleaching treatment.
Ⅱ Clothing should not undergo traditional mildew-proofing, moth-proofing, or flame-retardant treatments.
Ⅲ No pentachlorophenol or tetrachlorophenol should be added during clothing production for anti-corrosion.
Ⅳ There should be no moldy, gasoline, or toxic aromatic odors on clothing.
Ⅴ Azo dyes that can decompose into carcinogenic aromatic amines should not be used.
Ⅵ Residual formaldehyde, heavy metals, colorfastness, insecticides, herbicides, chemicals, etc., on clothing should meet Oeko-Tex 100 standard requirements.
Ⅶ pH value should comply with Oeko-Tex 100 standard requirements.
In 2001, a survey on green consumption awareness was conducted in Nanjing, with the following results:
Ⅰ 35% of respondents knew about the "Chinese Environmental Label," while 65% did not.
Ⅱ 64% believed in the authenticity of green product promotions in the market, 26% were uncertain, and 9% did not believe.
Ⅲ 45% had seen green clothing products, while 54% had not.
Ⅳ 40% had purchased green clothing, mostly outerwear, T-shirts, and shirts.
Ⅴ 39% believed the prospect of green clothing operations was good, 85% thought it was better, and 12% considered it average.
Since green marketing is still in its infancy in the Chinese market and continues to expand in terms of recognition and depth, it represents a new concept in market operations after joining the WTO. It is also a significant direction for the development of the 21st-century cleaning service industry. Green marketing encompasses the philosophy of putting customers first and prioritizing quality. It is about considering consumer health and environmental protection. In the past, laundry only focused on cleanliness, but now it must also consider the green external quality of clothes after washing and the quality of green services. Currently, combining the external cleanliness of clothes (first quality), the green level of external quality (second quality), and green service quality (third quality) under a comprehensive quality view is necessary to determine whether the quality is good or not. Hence, "green marketing" is still a "gap" or "vacancy" for manufacturers, and choosing it for enterprise operation will surely lead to success. Hopefully, China's cleaning industry will soon embrace "green marketing"!