Dry cleaners to the stars

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September 18, 2008

By Judy Wakefield

Not only is Andover becoming a filmmaking destination for the Hollywood set, but a local couple's dry-cleaning business is taking care of the wardrobes.

Farshad and Roxane Sayan of Andover own Clevergreen, a green-friendly business. With stores in Boston's Back Bay and Medford, they have been leaving leaflets at several movie sets in the Boston area.

"We sought them out and it worked," said Farshad Sayan. "In one year, we did the dry cleaning for 12 movies. Word is out about us and the good job we do."

A thirteenth film was recently added. Over Labor Day weekend, a call came from the set of the movie "Don McKay," which stars Elisabeth Shue and Thomas Haden Church and has filmed at several locations around Andover. (See story about that movie filming in Andover, Page 12.)

They've also cleaned clothes worn by actress Jennifer Garner, who was filmed in a Regency Ridge mansion with actor Rob Lowe in June for the movie "This Side of the Truth."

Of course, the actors didn't drop off any dry cleaning themselves. But some of Garner's items were dropped off at Clevergreen by an assistant, said Sayan.

"They (actors) don't come in, an assistant does, but we get some costumes and regular clothes," Farshad Sayan said of his clientele.

Makeup stained costumes are common, while costumes from a food fight scene for one movie is his most memorable order from Hollywood.

"We brought it back the very next day," he said. "We don't sleep much because they want items back fast, so this is a seven-day-a-week business for us."

The store offers on-site tailoring, but Sayan said he believes the filmmakers are most attracted by his green approach to his business.

The dry-cleaning machine sprays clothes with an eco-friendly solvent called DF-2000. Many dry cleaners use perchloroethylene, commonly called "perc," which has been linked to increased risks of cancer, he said.

Clevergreen's washing machines are designed to use a minimum amount of water, while the steam used in the pressing machines heats the dryers. There are no incandescent lights used in the dry-cleaning process, another positive, Farshad Sayan said.

"It's in our mission statement — keeping green in mind is very important," said Farshad Sayan, an Iranian immigrant who has been in the dry-cleaning business for 30 years.

The couple and their two young children have lived in southern Andover since 2001.