Nancy Grundahl, a pollution-prevention specialist in Philadelphia, was irritated by an article in her local paper. Headlined "Clothes With a Conscience," it detailed how leading fashion designers were coining slogans and donating dollars to increase awareness of environmental crises.

There wasn't a word about dry-cleaning.

"The designers are missing the point," Grundahl says. "If they really wanted to make a significant difference, if they really wanted to change the world, they should switch from 'dry-clean-only' fabrics to washable fabrics."

Grundahl and other dry-cleaning foes worry about solvents such as perchloroethylene touching their skin, polluting the air and contaminating ground water. They also object to plastic bags and wire hangers, which typically end up in landfills.

These concerned consumers have developed shopping and laundering techniques that allow them to avoid dry-cleaning many garments. They scour stores for cottons and other fabrics that are easy to wash. They stock their utility closets with biodegradable laundry powders and liquids along with ironing boards, irons and portable steamers. They outfit their gardens, patios and bathrooms with useful gadgets like retractable clotheslines and fold-away sweater dryers. They tend to ignore many dry-clean-only warnings. But if a garment, such as a wool business suit, must be cleaned, they make sure it happens as infrequently as possible. And before they wear any dry-cleaned item, they let it air out.

It's debatable how long the airing process should take. "You know that dry-cleaning odor? That's perc (perchloroethylene)," says Grundahl. "To be safe, clothes should be aired outside for 24 hours."

Debra Lynn Dadd , in her book "Nontoxic, Natural, & Earthwise," advises a longer waiting period. "If you absolutely must have an item dry-cleaned," she writes, "remove the plastic covering as soon as you get home and hang the item in a well-ventilated area--preferably outdoors--to encourage evaporation of the solvent. This could take up to a week."

Dadd, who became a consumer advocate after learning she was "very sensitive to petrochemicals," works out of her home near San Francisco. She says she is steadily "moving away from things that require dry cleaning. Ten years ago I would buy silk shirts and wool blazers. Now I buy cotton shirts, more free flowing skirts and jackets that are not as strait-laced, so they don't have to be as pressed."