A DORCHESTER store has been chosen from hundreds nationwide to receive new green technology worth £40,000.

The county town branch of Johnson Cleaners in South Street has been fitted out with environmentally-friendly cleaning technology after being rebranded as a GreenEarth store.

GreenEarth is a US-patented cleaning system which uses gentle liquid silicone cleaning solvents derived from naturally occurring sand.

It has no harmful waste products and is kinder to clothes and skin than traditional methods.

The Dorchester branch was among the few stores selected from 520 around the country on the basis of its recent performance levels and the strength of its team, which is led by manager Karen Galloway. She said: “It is fantastic that we have been chosen to be one of the first 10 GreenEarth stores to open in the UK. It is a big boost for us and reflects really well on all the hard work the team put in on a daily basis.

“The staff have also received additional training on the benefits of using greener cleaning technology and the store itself has been completely refurbished.”

Staff celebrated the launch by offering a cleaning discount and collecting money for their chosen charity Water Aid.

The organisation campaigns to overcome poverty by enabling the world’s poorest people to gain access to safe water supplies, sanitation and hygiene education.

Johnson Cleaners is the UK’s largest dry cleaning company and plans to invest millions of pounds in the next five years to bring GreenEarth cleaning to all its stores. The technology is available to customers for the same price as standard cleaning, and clothing is said to have a softer feel and no tell-tale dry cleaning smell.

The plans follow on from a successful coat hanger recycling campaign earlier in the year.

The company’s board has also signed up to a comprehensive new environmental policy with support from the Carbon Trust. It includes commitments to a five per cent annual reduction in energy consumption until 2010 and a 15 per cent reduction in carbon emissions by 2012. It also pledges to minimise customer travel distances when planning new store locations and to review the firm’s packaging strategy.