An Exploration into Consumer Perceptions on Green Technology in regard to 'Commercial Laundries'

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Acknowledgement

I would take this opportunity to thank my research supervisor, family and friends for their support and guidance without which this research would not have been possible.

DECLARATION

I, [type your full first names and surname here], declare that the contents of this dissertation/thesis represent my own unaided work, and that the dissertation/thesis has not previously been submitted for academic examination towards any qualification. Furthermore, it represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the University.

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Abstract

In this study we try to explore the concept of “green technology” in a holistic context. The main focus of the research is on “green technology” and its relation with “commercial Laundry”. The research also analyzes many aspects of “green” and tries to gauge its effect on “consumer perception and commercial laundry”. Finally the research describes various factors which are responsible for “green technology” and tries to describe the overall effect of “green technology”.

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

Introduction1

Laundry Services/ Textile Rental1

Energy use and CO2 emissions from Celtic3

Indirect Energy3

Within Ireland4

Taxation4

Expenditure on Energy4

PEST Analysis4

Why reduce CO2 emissions?5

Social7

Technological7

Environmental8

Legal9

Five Forces Analysis:10

Rivalry among the industry11

Threats of New Entrants11

Bargaining Power of Buyers12

Bargaining Power of Suppliers12

Substitute Products13

Conclusion of the Porter analysis14

Introduction to the Organisation15

SWOT Analysis:17

Hypothesis/Research Question19

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW20

Introduction20

Commercial Laundry21

Chemicals and Green technology23

Green Technology and Relation with suppliers24

Green Landry26

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY27

Research Methodology27

Research Methodology29

Secondary Research30

External data30

Relevance of information30

Qualitative Research33

CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS37

Discussion37

Analysis57

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION61

Conclusion61

Recommendations62

Chapter 1: Introduction

Introduction

Laundry Services/ Textile Rental

The textile rental sector evolves from the commercial laundry sector, one of the world's oldest industries. The current product profile owes much to the development of textile rental in the 1960's in response to mass market tourism and subsequent growth in the hotel sector.

Many of today's competitors in the market place derive from family owned laundry companies servicing a local domestic market during the twentieth century. The largest company in the market is Spring Grove Services,in its current form is a subsidiary of Davis Service plc. and evolved from various merges. Some of the companies now incorporated into Spring Grove include Irish Linen Services, Swastika Laundry, Initial and Executive Towel Rental.

Every year there tends to be new entrants into the market. Usually these are indigenouslaundrette's that expand into commercial laundry and linen rental, though in the 1990's the collapse of the denim fashion market saw a former denim processors (those who stone wash or pre fade jeans before sale) convert their plants and enter the commercial laundry market. Unfortunately most of these new entrants, enter the market with little knowledge of textiles and processes as knowledge within the laundry industry is built up over time and reputation. New entrants enter the market at low prices and unfortunately they tend to damage the reputation of the industry as a whole.

In the past there have been some British plc.'s entrants to the market, though with the exception of David plc. (Spring Grove) these have not been successful and have withdrawn after a number of years (Johnson Service & ...