How Can I Find a "Green" Gown Preservation?

That’s a good question, but there is no quick and easy answer. There are three components in a good gown preservation: a clean dress, archival-quality storage materials, and the environment in which the container is stored.

Most fabric conservators recommend a container made of completely acid-free paperboard and tissue for packing that is also completely acid-free. In the United States, the government imposes a fee on paperboard manufacturers to cover the proper disposal of the acid removed during the manufacturing process so you need not worry about environmental pollution as far as the wedding chest is concerned.

And the planet will probably keep on rolling just fine no matter where you keep the wedding chest. However, if you want your gown to continue to look its best, you should not store it where there are extremes of heat and humidity such as the attic where it is just too hot for the comfort of the fibers in your gown. Basements are too damp, and it is one of those well-known universal laws that if a pipe breaks in the basement, the water will find your gown.

Believe it or not, the most important factor in a successful preservation is a clean dress, and cleaning your gown is exactly the point at which you might think about a “green” preservation. Some of the stains on your gown are water-soluble (wine or coffee), some are not (lipstick or car-door grease), and some are complex stains (chocolate or salad dressing) that require both wetside and dryside chemicals to dissolve them. Once a cleaner has dissolved the stains with the proper chemicals, the gown goes into a machine containing a solvent that rinses out all of the chemicals used to dissolve the stains.

Some brides think they should ask the cleaner if he or she uses an “organic” solvent when the gown is cleaned, but technically almost all of the solvents currently used by cleaners can be classified as organic because they contain carbon in some form—although some contain more carbon than others. The two solvents currently thought to be most friendly to the environment are carbon dioxide and silicone dioxide, but the jury, the Environmental Protection Agency, has not yet ruled decisively.

You might think water would be the “greenest” solvent. Unfortunately, no bride would be very happy with a silk gown that has been processed entirely in water because water can cause shrinkage. Sophisticated tensioning equipment can be used to offset shrinkage, but water dissolves the sizing that manufacturers add to fabric to give it extra body and sheen. Cleaners call this “hand,” and water causes a significant loss of hand. On the whole, silk just does not do well in water, and silk that has been processed in water often looks much like a piece of aluminum foil that has been wadded up and then smoothed out again—limp and full of very fine wrinkles.

Even if your gown is not silk, you should remember that solvents other than water are recycled. You could argue that the non-water cleaning solvents are more environmentally friendly than water because water is thrown out after each use. To date there are no commercial cleaning machines that recycle water. And the chemicals used to dissolve stains that are not water-soluble go down the drain with the water. Some states prohibit the use of certain kinds of chemicals, but the rest can end up in the ground and cause exactly the kind of problem you are trying to avoid when you ask for a “green” preservation.

So what should you look for? How can you be a friend to your gown and to the environment?

Hal Hornung, editor of National Clothesline, which is probably the periodical best known and most widely read by cleaners, has often written on the responsible use of chemicals, and I asked him to comment on what brides should do if they are looking for a “green” preservation. Hal wrote:

“Of course there are things beyond the cleaning solvent that will factor into a drycleaner’s environmental friendliness—energy efficiency and recycling programs, for example. . . . If I were a customer looking for an environmentally friendly cleaner, I would ask the cleaner specifically what he does that makes him “green.” Many cleaners have given it much thought and can provide a laundry list of practices they have in place to conserve and protect the environment. If all a cleaner can say is that he uses Brand A cleaning solvent, which is way better than old Brand X, I would go down the street to the next cleaner.”

Bottom line: when choosing a preservationist you should ask lots of questions to find the cleaner who is best for your gown and best for the environment. You can find some of the important questions at www.WeddingGownSpecialists.com/BridalGownCareTips.htm. Then look for a responsible operator who does his or her best to conserve energy and participate in recycling programs. As Hal wrote, “A poor operator can foul the environment with just about any solvent, while a good operator can be environmentally pristine using just about anything.”

Does the Container Matter When You Preserve Your Gown

Yes, it does. I get calls every two or three weeks from brides who are worried because their gowns seem to be yellowing. Almost always the problem is the container. When the container is not completely acid-free, the acidic content will yellow your gown. Of course, you should ask the service that cleans and preserves your gown whether they are using an acid-free container before you trust them with your gown. However, you can also see with your own eyes if it is not acid-free because if any parts of the box or the bust form put into your gown to give it shape are brown, it is not acid-free.

Unless your container is one of the grey-colored boxes especially made for fabric conservation by a company such as University Products or Archivart, all parts of the box or bust form should be white. If they are not, it is not an archival-quality box. Some services use containers that are white on the outside and on the inside of the box, but the interior structure between the layers of paper is brown. This interior structure give the box its strength, and it is made up of little ridges which are called "flutes. If the flutes are brown, the box is not completely acid-free. Eventually the acid will migrate through the white paper coating the inside of the box and discolor the gown.

Some services offer pH-neutral containers. Such containers are not good either because they can re-acidify. Trees contain lignin, an acid naturally found in trees. Then manufacturers add still more acid during the paper-making process. When making pH-neutral paper, they add a neutralizer, but the neutralizer is soluble in water. If the container gets wet or is stored in a damp area, the neutralizer dissolves, and the paper re-acidifies.

When manufacturers make acid-free paper, all acid is completely removed, and the paper cannot re-acifify.

Windows, too, can cause problems. If there is a window in the container and it is not made from a neutral plastic such as polypropylene, it will give off gases that also can yellow the gown.

Be sure the service you trust with your gown uses archival-quality materials that are acid-free. Then avoid storing the container where there are extremes of heat such as the attic or humidity such as the basement. Basements are also dangerous because it is a law: if a pipe breaks, the water will find your gown.

There is hope for gowns that yellow, but you will need to find a specialist who can remove it safely because ordinary drycleaning very rarely removes the discoloration.

What About Cleaning My Gown After the Wedding?

Brides often call me to ask how soon after the wedding the gown has to be cleaned. Of course, the sooner you have it cleaned, the easier it is for the cleaner to remove successfully all the cake and lipstick and floor dirt you picked up the day of the wedding.

BUT are you really ready to give up your gown? You might want to enjoy it some more and just look at it hanging over the closet door or resting on the bed in your mom's guest room--or even try it on once in a while to remember how much fun it was to wear it on your wedding day. Every bride I have ever met wishes the day had not gone by so fast and that she could wear her gown again.

The truth is, unless your gown is silk and splattered with red wine or splotched with mud, it's okay to delay the trip to the cleaners for a couple of weeks. It's not such a good idea to wait as long as a year or more, but some brides just cannot bring themselves to leave their gowns with a stranger. For some brides, it is almost the same kind of "separation anxiety" that mothers experience when the first child goes off to nursery school or kindergarten.

If you are that kind of bride, research a few cleaners, get references, and when you make your choice, get a definite date for an appointment to inspect your gown after it is clean. You will feel better if you have a scheduled appointment and know exactly when you are going to see your gown again!

Will My Gown Be Okay If I Have It Cleaned Before the Wedding?

If you bought a sample from the bridal shop or you bought your gown on E-Bay or from a consignment shop, chances are that your gown looks a little shopworn, but strangely enough people will tell you NOT to have your gown cleaned! I see this all the time on wedding websites: "Don't have your gown cleaned before the wedding because the cleaner will ruin it."

And I just wish I could post, too, because I would write that if you pick the right cleaner your gown will look better than ever after it is cleaned. There is a list of questions to ask the cleaner at http://www.weddinggownspecialists.com/bridalgowncaretips.htm, but the main thing is to ask the cleaner if they do the work themselves and how many gowns they clean. Someone who cleans gowns all the time will recognize the name of your gown's manufacturer as well as the fabric in your gown and will know exactly what solvents can safely be used.

If you want help finding the right person, you can call me at 800-501-5005