OK, we know it has to do with dry-cleaning, but what IS "Martinizing?" Was there a Martin involved? Why, yes there was...
From the official website: Martinizing Dry Cleaning was founded in 1949 by a New York chemist named Henry Martin. Mr. Martin revolutionized the dry cleaning industry by offering ‘on-site’ cleaning at retail locations. He did this by using a less flammable solvent to clean clothes. At the time, dry cleaning was done with highly flammable solvents, which made it necessary for the plants were located remotely from the storefronts for safety reasons. A customer would typically drop off their cleaning in town. The garments would then travel to a remote production facility to be cleaned and pressed and would finally return to the store several days later for pick-up. With the use of the new solvent discovered by Mr. Martin, dry cleaning plants could now be located much more conveniently and the process could be carried out in a timely manner.
In the US, Martinizing franchaise locations have fallen from 526 in 2001 to 229 in 2012, clearly in a steady decline. In general, 20% of U.S. dry cleaning businesses have closed in the past decade, so Martinizing is falling at a faster rate.
However, it may always, live on, in Bill Griffith's Zippy Comic Strips.
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