I knew that dry cleaning was bad for the environment, but I never really understood just how bad it was until the other day when I went to pick up some sweaters at George's, my regular dry cleaner.

While there, some do-gooders stuck a flyer on my windshield that gave me the lowdown on the hazards of traditional dry cleaning. (Someone ought to tell them that flyers aren't exactly the greenest way to the spread the word.)

Anyway, I learned was that most traditional dry cleaners — an estimated 85 percent — still use a toxic chemical called perchloroethylene, or perc, which not only pollutes your neighborhood's air and water, it is also believed to be a nasty carcinogen.

Since 1992, the Environmental Protection Agency has encouraged cleaners to adopt eco-friendly alternatives, such as wet-cleaning and CO2 gas. Many cleaners now use non-toxic techniques — but it's still not the norm.

The good news is that there's a cleaner in my town that's dedicated to using green techniques. The bad news is that it's 12 miles away from my house. George's, on the other hand, is less than a half-mile away, but it's run by a sweet old guy who seems like he'd more likely to dress up in a tutu before switching to eco-friendly technology.

So, now I'm stumped. I go to the cleaners a lot in the winter, thanks to my truly amazing talent for spilling stuff on my good wool sweaters.

But I have no idea which is the more environmentally responsible option. Should I go to the green cleaner, even if it means driving 24 (!!) miles out of the way? Or should I stick with George's, pollutants and all?

What's the right thing for a sloppy, but eco-friendly girl to do?