Núria Ferrer has been running El Monestir dry cleaner and laundromat in Sant Feliu de Guíxols, a tourist town on the Costa Brava, for 27 years. The location of her business and her years of experience have allowed her to serve a diverse clientele and develop extensive knowledge on how to maximize the lifespan of clothing, regardless of its origin, composition, or quality.
– Núria, is there a big difference between your customers now and those from twenty years ago?
Quite a lot. In the past, customers were mostly local people who would occasionally bring in their coats or Sunday dresses that couldn’t be hand- or machine-washed. Now, the clientele is much more diverse: wealthy tourists who entrust us with their most exclusive garments, young people asking us to remove stains from vintage pieces, or immigrant women who wear traditional garments from their home countries adorned with intricate beadwork, which requires a very specific type of cleaning.
– Is today’s clothing very different from that of the past?
Absolutely. In the past, clothing was mostly made from a single material, and by checking the label, you knew exactly how to care for it. Now, garments combine multiple fabrics that, despite being part of the same piece, need to be treated separately. There are also many new materials. You need extensive textile knowledge to figure out how to clean a garment perfectly without damaging it.
“You need extensive textile knowledge to figure out how to clean a garment perfectly without damaging it.”
– Don’t the care labels provide that information?
For many new materials, there is still no clear guidance, and even for well-established fabrics, they have changed over time, and many brands fail to account for this in their labeling.
– Can you give an example?
Many 100% polyester garments, which used to be known for not bleeding color, now do because they are painted rather than dyed. That’s why every time I see a black-and-white polyester garment come in, I get nervous—the care instructions on the label don’t always match reality.
The real issue with today’s clothing isn’t so much the quality but the design. Often, little thought is given to which fabrics are best suited for a specific purpose or how they should be combined.
A good example is the popularity of jute rugs, which have become trendy for outdoor spaces and rustic kitchens. The problem is that jute cannot be washed, so these rugs deteriorate quickly and become disposable products. A better alternative is cotton rugs, which can be machine-washed over and over again without issue.
“The real issue with today’s clothing isn’t so much the quality but the design.”
– Is brand name important?
Not really. What matters most is how the garment is designed and what materials are used. Recently, we’ve been seeing a lot of clothing made from recycled polyester, but the quality is often very low. The brand name is the least important factor—we get very expensive garments that are poorly designed and made from low-quality materials, while some very affordable pieces are well-made and, if properly cared for, can last for years. But the most important thing of all is how we take care of them.
– What advice can you give us to take better care of our clothes?
In general, we wash too often and at unnecessarily high temperatures. Someone with an urban lifestyle should always wash their clothes in cold water—using higher temperatures doesn’t offer any real benefit but does result in excessive energy consumption. If there are stains, the key is to remove them before putting the garment in the washing machine. No matter how high the water temperature, a stain won’t come out unless it is treated properly first.
“In general, we wash too often and at unnecessarily high temperatures.”
– And what about ironing? I see it’s an essential step for you.
Absolutely. Not ironing has become trendy, but a well-ironed garment looks much better, which makes us more likely to wear it frequently. If you want to save energy and time, the most efficient approach—when the climate allows—is to air dry clothes and then place them in the dryer for just one minute. This makes the ironing process faster and more effective.
– Any recommendations when buying clothes?
Touch the fabric, check the quality of the materials, and look at how the garment is made. In general, we lack textile awareness, and that’s something you learn through observation and touch. In the dry-cleaning business, this lack of knowledge becomes obvious because customers often associate price with quality. They request special care for expensive items while neglecting cheaper ones. But for us, all garments are equally valuable because we know that, with proper care, even the most affordable piece can look just as good.
“Customers associate the price of a garment with its quality.”
– Does dry cleaning have a future?
Absolutely. It’s already a profitable business, and new models, such as clothing rental and second-hand sales, will require professional services to sanitize and restore garments. At the household level, rising housing and utility costs, combined with modern lifestyles, are leading many people to forgo in-home washing machines in favor of self-service laundromats.
“New business models will require professional services to sanitize and restore garments.”
– Have dry cleaners changed much in the last twenty years?
A great deal, especially the machinery, which has advanced tremendously. For example, traditional dry cleaning is now used much less.
– Why?
Dry cleaning, aside from being less eco-friendly, uses a solvent that strips the protective coating from most metallic embellishments on garments—imagine the disaster! Plus, certain stains, such as protein-based stains, don’t come out with dry cleaning.
– How do modern dry cleaners clean clothes now?
Many of us use wet cleaning. This method involves a special washing machine with a closed-loop system that uses water and precisely measured eco-friendly detergents, along with a very gentle agitation process tailored to different types of garments. It’s far more effective, efficient, and environmentally friendly than traditional dry cleaning. If you’ve noticed, dry cleaners that use this system no longer have that strong chemical smell.
“Dry cleaners no longer smell like chemicals.”
– What will 21st-century laundromats be like?
I envision a social space where, while doing laundry, you can have a coffee, grab a bite to eat, and chat with others. And if you need more professional services, you’ll have access to dry cleaning.
– Is there a new generation entering the profession?
This is something we need to address. It’s a profession that hasn’t generated much interest or appeal because it has operated in the shadows for so long, so there aren’t enough trained professionals. However, I believe it’s possible to revitalize the industry and attract new talent.
– Any interesting anecdotes from your work?
You wouldn’t believe how many garments people forget at a dry cleaner. By law, we have to keep them for six months. In fact, I had to rent a small storage space to hold them all. After that time, I donate them to an NGO, though I’ve even considered selling them.
The Anecdote:
Octogenarian Wan-Ji Chang and his recently deceased wife, Sho-Er Hsu, ran Wan Sho Laundry in Taichung, Taiwan, for nearly 70 years. During the COVID-19 lockdown, their grandson convinced them to pose for photos wearing more than 300 forgotten garments left behind by customers over the years as a way to keep them entertained. The project turned them into a viral sensation, gaining over 700,000 Instagram followers and raising awareness about the importance of caring for our clothing.
This interview is part of a discussion space promoted by Girbau LAB and So Good So Cute, aiming to spark reflection and shed light on key aspects of circularity in the textile industry. See other published articles.
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