When Sam Kanabar says he was born into the dry cleaning business, he’s not being entirely metaphoric.
Kanabar’s family moved to Arizona from South Africa in 1981, and his father purchased the first of what would be several dry cleaning locations throughout the Valley. They lived in the apartment above it. A year later, Kanabar came into the world.
“I was born into the business. And I grew up in the business,” the owner of Organic Cleaners says.
So it wasn’t a surprise when, in 2002, a year after graduating from high school and while he was running his father’s locations, Kanabar opened the first of his two shops.
His business’ name reflects the concept initiated since day one: provide a necessary service as greenly as possible in an industry with a not so green history.
Back in the day, dry cleaners used perchloroethylene, also known as perc. However, over the years it has been deemed as potentially harmful if not properly controlled. Still, Kanabar estimates 90% of Valley cleaners continue to use perc, which he does not due to its potential harm to people and the environment.
Instead, Kanabar uses organic, nontoxic, hydrocarbon solvents. He also wet cleans, a greener option, when possible.
Organic Cleaners is one of the few with the equipment for wet cleaning capabilities. He uses 100% organic soaps to do this.
Kanabar is so experienced and knowledgeable in this field, he knows what materials and clothing can undergo wet or dry cleaning processes. If he sees an item with stains or marks that dry cleaning won’t adequately clean—and the material can take it—he often wet and dry cleans the piece at no extra charge.
“We have everything needed to do what’s best for the garment,” he says. “We just want to give it back to the client as clean as possible.”
Organic Cleaners’ comprehensive set-up includes the capability to recycle solvent, and separate and dispose of dirty solvent properly. Customers are given hanger caddies to make sorting and returning hangers easy so they can be repurposed. Free pickup and delivery to Paradise Valley, Scottsdale, Phoenix, and Tempe reduces the amount of gas individual customers would use by efficiently utilizing the company van that’s making the rounds anyway.
At the end of the day, Kanabar’s earth-focused bottom line is just as important as his business’ bottom line, if not more.
“I’d prefer if all cleaners were organic. It’s not about the competition,” he says. “It’s about being kind to the environment.” OrganicCleanersAZ.com