National Clothesline

About 200 drycleaning locations now boast the Award of Excellence, a program initiated last year by the International Fabricare Institute to help top drycleaners differentiate themselves from the herd and to help consumers locate them.

Speaking at the Southwest Drycleaners Association convention in Fort Worth, TX April 1, IFI CEO Bill Fisher said he hopes to see the number of “Excellence” cleaners double, triple or even quadruple by the end of this year.

He said the program was started because there are too many cleaners vying for the consumers’ dollars. “We’re trying to do something to let individual cleaners differentiate themselves as a good plant.”

Qualifying for the award requires racking up 30 points from a list of activities that include trade association membership, membership in the Better Business Bureau or local chamber of commerce, attending schools and seminars, having community service programs, and achieving industry certifications. Cleaners also have to pass stain removal and cleaning performance tests.

Once they make the grade, IFI provides a large, framed poster that announces the award and explains why the cleaner qualifies and ad slicks that can be used in print advertising. Fisher said that eventually there will be garment bags and hanger capes available to help promote the Award of Excellence. IFI helps in the public relations effort by sending press releases to local media outlets to announce the Award of Excellence cleaners and seeking recognition of the program in national and local media.

For more information on the program, call IFI, (301) 622-1900. Listings of current Award of Excellence holders and other information about the program is available on IFI’s web site: www.ifi.org.