VOA标准英语2014--Philadelphia Laundry Succeeds by Being Green

 

Philadelphia Laundry Succeeds by Being Green

When Gabriel Mandujano opened Wash Cycle Laundry in Philadelphia four years ago, the 26-year-old social innovator¹ had three goals in mind: making a profit, developing community and staying green.  Four years later, he has not only succeeded in achieving these goals, but he is expanding the business as well.  

It is hard not to notice them on the streets.  Wearing bright orange T-shirts, Wash Cycle Laundry cyclists pick up and deliver laundry around Washington, pulling big orange trailers behind their bikes.  That separates Wash Cycle Laundry from other cleaning services.  But this is not the only difference.  The clothing and linens² are cleaned with locally produced and environmentally friendly detergents³ and delivered in reusable packages.

Founder⁴ Gabriel Mandujano wanted to go green, but be competitive too.

“I think a lot of time when people hear 'environmentally friendly', they automatically think 'more expensive', but laundry is really a neat industry where it is cheaper to save water and energy than it is to waste it," said Mandujano.

It is also cheaper to use other companies' equipment.

“We've done millions of pounds of laundry, but we actually do not own a single washing machine ourselves," he said. "We are not bringing anything new to the market.  What we've done differently is rather than building one gigantic plant, often in industrial parks, somewhere that is 40 or 50 miles away from the city, we've established ourselves in a lot of sort of micro plants, where we are four or five blocks away from our clients.  We always find laundries that are under-utilized and then we make a sort of an agreement with the ownership of that laundry to use it during their downtimes."

Mandujano says the nation’s capital seemed like a lucrative⁵ market for his laundry business.

“There are a lot of people who do not have the time, but do have a little bit of income that they can use to afford our service," he said.

Inspired by his background with community development non-profits, Mandujano adopted a purposeful hiring policy to find employees to provide that service.

“About half of our employees are from what you call a vulnerable adult population.  That means they could have been chronically⁶ unemployed," he said. "They could have been coming off a public benefits program, a number are in recovery from substance abuse.  Some have a history of incarceration⁷."

Shawnice Foxx is one of his new hires.

“I thought I wasn't going to be able to continue working here because of my personal problems, but they helped me out," she said. "I'm still here and everything is going great now. I am trying to just sustain one job and be able to be there for years and advance in a company instead of keep hopping⁸ from job to job."

Jim Starn, who owns a massage⁹ therapy business, says Wash Cycle's social commitment is one reason he is a client.  Being green is another.

“It's easy. I do not have to worry about a [delivery] truck coming by and blocking traffic and people being irritated," he said. "And I love the fact that they aren't just using all that gasoline. Because we're a massage studio, people come to us for natural wellness and alternatives. So the fact that we do not have to worry about the chemicals and the bleach¹⁰ and all these things that can be in the laundry and the laundry comes back spotless is just terrific."

As he cycles through the city, picking up and delivering laundry, Chris Walke explains why his job is terrific.

“I get to move around, be active. Be out in the sun," he said. "My body is engaged, but my mind is free, which I really appreciate."

That is what Wash Cycle Laundry founder Mandujano imagined, when he established his enterprise.

“My family was probably a little bit concerned when I told them I was quitting my job to start a laundry business.  This is not the most glamorous¹¹ profession, it's not like going to a dinner or a cocktail¹² party and saying, ‘I'm a doctor’, ‘I'm a lawyer’, ‘I'm a banker,’" he said. "I think as business has grown, people started to see the vision and what we have been able to accomplish and where we might go."

Mandujano plans to expand Wash Cycle Laundry - and his approach to social innovation - to other U.S. cities and, he hopes, around the world.   

1 innovator   

n.改革者；创新者

参考例句：

• The young technical innovator didn't lose heart though the new system was not yet brought into a workable condition. 尽管这种新方法尚未达到切实可行的状况，这位青年技术革新者也没有泄气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Caesar planned vast projects and emerged as a great innovator. 恺撒制定了庞大的革新计划。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史

2 linens   

n.亚麻布( linen的名词复数 )；家庭日用织品

参考例句：

• All linens and towels are provided. 提供全套日用织品和毛巾。 来自辞典例句
• Linen, Table Linens, Chair Covers, Bed and Bath Linens. Linen. 采购产品亚麻布，亚麻布，椅子套子，床和沭浴亚麻布。 来自互联网

3 detergents   

n.洗涤剂( detergent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Such detergents do not yellow the wool as alkali tends to do. 这种洗涤剂不会象碱那样使羊毛发黄。 来自辞典例句
• Development of detergents has required optimization of the surfactants structure. 发展洗涤剂时，要求使用最恰当的表面活性剂结构。 来自辞典例句

4 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

5 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

6 chronically   

ad.长期地

参考例句：

• Similarly, any pigment nevus that is chronically irritated should be excised. 同样，凡是经常受慢性刺激的各种色素痣切勿予以切除。
• People chronically exposed to chlorine develop some degree of tolerance. 人长期接触氯气可以产生某种程度的耐受性。

7 incarceration   

n.监禁，禁闭；钳闭

参考例句：

• He hadn't changed much in his nearly three years of incarceration. 在将近三年的监狱生活中，他变化不大。 来自辞典例句
• Please, please set it free before it bursts from its long incarceration! 请你，请你将这颗心释放出来吧！否则它会因长期的禁闭而爆裂。 来自辞典例句

8 hopping   

n. 跳跃 动词hop的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The clubs in town are really hopping. 城里的俱乐部真够热闹的。
• I'm hopping over to Paris for the weekend. 我要去巴黎度周末。

9 massage   

n.按摩，揉；vt.按摩，揉，美化，奉承，篡改数据

参考例句：

• He is really quite skilled in doing massage.他的按摩技术确实不错。
• Massage helps relieve the tension in one's muscles.按摩可使僵硬的肌肉松弛。

10 bleach   

vt.使漂白；vi.变白；n.漂白剂

参考例句：

• These products don't bleach the hair.这些产品不会使头发变白。
• Did you bleach this tablecloth?你把这块桌布漂白了吗？

11 glamorous   

adj.富有魅力的；美丽动人的；令人向往的

参考例句：

• The south coast is less glamorous but full of clean and attractive hotels.南海岸魅力稍逊，但却有很多干净漂亮的宾馆。
• It is hard work and not a glamorous job as portrayed by the media.这是份苦差，并非像媒体描绘的那般令人向往。

12 cocktail   

n.鸡尾酒；餐前开胃小吃；混合物

参考例句：

• We invited some foreign friends for a cocktail party.我们邀请了一些外国朋友参加鸡尾酒会。
• At a cocktail party in Hollywood,I was introduced to Charlie Chaplin.在好莱坞的一次鸡尾酒会上，人家把我介绍给查理·卓别林。