Dry-cleaners go bust on solvents hikes

Dry-cleaners across the US are going out of business at the fastest rate for 40 years due to the recent hikes in prices for perchloroethylene, the cleaning solvent, as well as plastics for garment bags, energy to run the machines, and fuel for their vans, according to this article in today's TimesOnline. Not to mention the doubling in the cost of metal coat-hangers, due to the imposition of a tariff on Chinese metal coat-hangers, almost all of which supply American dry-cleaners.