Eco Dry Cleaner and Whole Foods launch partnership

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DJ Widmer, VP of Sales & Marketing for Eco Dry Cleaner

Eco Dry Cleaner has joined forces with Whole Foods Market to test a new retail satellite model.

The program will begin in Whole Foods' Pearl District location in Portland, and could expand to other stores in the area. The primary element of the partnership is a custom-built dry cleaning drop-off box. The box, which was designed and built by NamuhDesign — a Portland firm that uses reclaimed and FSC-certified materials — will be placed near the store's cash registers. New and existing Eco Dry Cleaner customers can drop off orders in reusable bags, which are collected each night by company drivers. Clean clothes can also be picked up from Whole Foods, which are stored in a back room and accessed by store employees.

Beaverton-based Eco Dry Cleaner, which operates four locations around Portland, uses the GreenEarth Cleaning process, a toxin-free alternative to traditional perc and hydrocarbon solvent dry cleaning methods. The company has 30 employees.

The program will employ a revenue-sharing model, allowing Eco Dry Cleaner to place the 2-foot by 4-foot box without leasing floor space.

The company is in the process of placing boxes in additional Whole Foods stores around Portland. DJ Widmer, Eco Dry Cleaner's VP of sales and marketing, expects a 10 percent to 15 percent growth in dry cleaning orders from each box location.

"This partnership benefits both of us. We get additional foot traffic and exposure, and Whole Foods gets a new source of revenue while adding value for their customers," said Widmer.

Although they're starting locally, Eco Dry Cleaner has national aspirations for the satellite model. Much like the Cork ReHarvest program, which began in Oregon and is now featured in Whole Foods stores around the country, the dry cleaning program is easily scalable. If picked up nationally, Eco Dry Cleaner will license the model — and their brand — to other dry cleaners that use the GreenEarth Cleaning system.