Marleys Monsters UNpaper Towels are one of the most eco friendly paper towels you can find. is a, Loofah vegetables are surprisingly long-lasting and since they are entirely organic, they can be tossed in the compost at the end of their life. Aren't you tired of the use and abuse of regular paper towels in your household? Photo by: Stocksnap (Pixabay), Marcal is another brand with some of the best eco friendly paper towels on the market. allies in the fight against climate change, Learn more about the material's pros and cons here, Return to Nature: The New Science of How Natural Landscapes Restore Us, The Spirit Almanac: A Modern Guide To Ancient Self Care. helping you make better choices for the planet. WOWABLES NAMED BEST OVERALL REUSABLE PAPER TOWELS ACCORDING TO AMAZON.COM. extremely absorbent can be used up to 80 times machine washable, one roll equates to 3-6 months worth of traditional paper towels, made of 100% recycled paper compostable, free of toxic chemicals, dyes and fragrances, the same price as regular paper towels! THIS ARTICLE MAY CONTAIN COMPENSATED LINKS. is a vegetable. In this blog well introduce you to some of the best sustainable paper towels and other eco friendly alternatives that you wont believe have been missing from your life. Heres a fun fact for you: Guess how much money the world spends on paper towels each year? Sea sponges are a natural alternative to plastic sponges and are a good substitute for paper towels. Most of us dont really stop to think about how to make paper towels, but the fact is, commercial paper towel is made from trees. After use, simply rinse them out and allow them to dry completely. They are much more eco-friendly than plastic-based sponges which are usually made from nylon or polyester, both products of the petroleum industry. The environmental impact of traditional paper towels is huge. Convenient though they are, single-use items contribute to deforestation, climate change and waste, choking our oceans and causing our landfills to overflow. its harder to keep a white t-shirt looking clean and bright than it is for a colored shirt. Youll be amazed at their absorbency and their quick-dry nature. Thats a lotta freakin money that we could be spending onfiguring out climate change, or I dont know removing plastic water bottles from the ocean. This keeps them fresher longer, with none of that mildew smell that can plague regular fabric cloths. While a step in the right direction, recycled, compostable and tree-free paper towels are still single-use products, so lets look at a zero waste paper towels option: unpaper towels. INKS -Wowables use natural pigmentation dyes and the process to color the fabric is a proprietary process that allows maximum color saturation, all certified to meet international Oeko-Tex Standard 100, no harmful ingredients added. Paper towels cant be recycled, but it is possible to find paper towels made from recycled paper pulp. We are not REPLACING the Paper towel - we are IMPROVING IT. It also supports small business! Cellulose sponges are easy to clean and maintain. Since traditional white rolls are made from wood fibers that are broken down and dyed with bleach, they require a lot of water and energy to makejust to end up in the trash. In addition to paper towel, they have an abundance of other tree-free paper products, from toilet paper to facial tissue. $12 BILLION!!!! Who Gives A Crap donates 50% of its profits to charity partners working in water, hygiene, and sanitation. It can be as simple as using one sheet or even half a sheet instead of two, and looking for suitable alternatives to everyday kitchen jobs for which we normally turn to paper towels. One of the more economical options is Public Goods two-pack of tree free paper towel. Photo by: Prastowo Ufairah Art & Design (Pixabay), 2023 by Train of Thoughts. Paper towels are often used for wrapping half-finished foods or covering plates or bowls. Of course, there are many factors that go into this idea, such as resources, transportation, carbon emissions, end of life disposal, unintended byproducts, and toxicity. Money aside though, $12 billion worth of paper towels also equates to a lotta resources going into something we only use for a few seconds before putting it right into the trash. Washing dishes or scrubbing pots? Dont you worry, Ive got somethin for you too. But thats the rule of thumb when it comes to judging whats more sustainable. Handmade in Ukraine, Kolo Natures unsponge also repurposes waste material to make their sponges: cotton fabric scraps from sewing workshops on one side, and discarded jute coffee bags on the other. You use it for all your cleaning needs, then simply rinse out as needed and use again and again and again. Seventh Generation's paper towels are unbleached, made of 100 percent recycled paper, and don't use any added dyes or inks, so you can throw them right into your compost bin after use. Ultra absorbent, 100% recyclable and biodegradable, these might just be the best kitchen towels you own. They can last for up to six years, making them a very low-waste option and of course, they are entirely biodegradable. Each tree has huge value, let's appreciate the reusable. So, there you have it: so many eco friendly replacements for paper towels, no matter what the job! A women-and-youth-run Canadian company, Nature Bee is on a mission to create a better food wrap for people and the planet. Marcal is another brand with some of the best eco friendly paper towels on the market. For a deep-clean, you can even run them through the dishwasher (on the top rack) or microwave them for 30 seconds to disinfect (make sure the sponge is wet when your put it in the microwave; never put a dry sponge in the microwave as it could catch fire.). In addition to being 100% bamboo, these extra absorbent two-ply paper towel rolls are totally plastic-free and contain no inks or dyes; the box they come in is also recyclable! And 120,000 tons of waste could be saved if each USA household utilized 3 fewer rolls/year, in addition, it would eliminate $4,100,000 in landfill dumping fees. Similarly made from 70% cellulose and 30% cotton, they are 100% compostable at the end of their lifecycle. Not suitable for vegans as they are animals, you can otherwise use sea sponges with a clean conscience as they are not an endangered species, and are either sustainably wild-harvested or farmed. Since they are made from all-natural materials, these dish cloths are biodegradable and compostable, too. The Zero Waste Outlet offers a. And did we mention it's biodegradable? It's one of those "finally made it to market" products. (Source: The Atlantic). Disposable Paper Towels have become such a landfill nightmare. Whats better than drying hands with paper towel? Convenient though they are, single-use items contribute to deforestation, climate change and waste, choking our oceans and causing our landfills to overflow. You dont have to clean them, and they take care of just about any mess or spill in your home. Photo by: Volodymyr Hryshchenko (Unsplash), Sea sponges are another natural and eco-friendly option. Paper towel waste is a huge problem: globally, paper towels contribute to nearly, $12 billion worth of non-recyclable waste, Unbleached, recycled paper towels are an eco-friendlier version to start with. Made from 100% cotton flannel, they naturally cling together making them easy to wrap around a standard paper towel roll for ease of use. 100% compostable and biodegradable and very durable, Why wrap food and dishes in paper towel when you can use beeswax wraps instead? Sign up to our newsletter for the latest news and special offers. With all the absorbency of paper towel and then some, Papaya paper towels pick up more mess. They are super absorbent and durable, a perfect heavy duty paper towel alternative. The Zero Waste Outlet offers a 3-pack of loofah sponges, each of which will last several and then are 100% compostable. A package of beeswax wraps from the Zero Waste Outlet includes three wraps of different sizes, so you can be sure you always have the right one for the job. 5 mistakes most eco conscious businesses make, The Ultimate Guide to Buying Second Hand Furniture, Clothing and Everything in Between, 7 Mindful Valentines Day Gift Ideas Your Beau Will Never Forget, plastic packaging (made from fossil fuels) to package the rolls, energy (aka more fossil fuels) to power the machines that cut, transport and convert the trees into paper. Your email address will not be published. They last for months, can be washed and reused over and over and once theyve reached the end of their life, they are biodegradable. Emma received her B.A. 2023 by Train of Thoughts. Are Paper Towels Bad for the Environment? 2009 - 2022 MindBodyGreen LLC. Click here for more details or to purchase some loofah sponges. She's spoken about the intersection of self-care and sustainability on podcasts and live events alongside environmental thought leaders like Marci Zaroff, Gay Browne, and Summer Rayne Oakes. Plus, they are strong and extra absorbent! /Rttm%fH~ 0Dw).TQPfK7_jN"jqp-
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mn4nJ^qClxFP1k(x`FCpXxZ2uf7uM!H;R[O:ab/)LUV rCl`[ Not needing all those disposable paper towels- think of all the space you'll save in the closet. Loofah vegetables are surprisingly long-lasting and since they are entirely organic, they can be tossed in the compost at the end of their life. First up on our list of eco friendly paper towels are recycled and compostable paper towels. Read more about. and they make using a paper towel look cheap AF], made of 100% organic cotton machine washable infinitely reusable. 'TQI,#x`^,LKEtL'd 8~ZXL3(KL. Did you know that 544,000 trees would be salvaged per year if each US family used 1 fewer rolls of disposable paper towels. Coir is the fibre found on the outside of coconuts, and its a great natural material for household cleaning chores. Photo by: Michelle Coppiens (Pixabay). A single sponge can replace as many as 3000 individual paper towels (30 rolls), making them a great investment! We love the dual-sided eco sponge from the Zero Waste Outlet. Inherently hypoallergenic and antibacterial, they are ideal for a variety of personal hygiene and household cleaning tasks. But if you can't quite quit the convenience of a single-use option, at least go with one that is made from recycled material or less threatened plants like bamboo. They can even be made by cutting up old clothing, extending the life of those products even further. Tree-free paper towels tackle one of the most nefarious paper towel problems: deforestation. Click here to read more about the benefits of sea sponges. But heres the thing: paper towels have a ton of environmental drawbacks that far outweigh the ease and benefits of using them. *The average family of 4 uses 104 rolls of regular paper towels/year, at approx. Click here for more details or to purchase a set of 3 beeswax wraps from the Zero Waste Outlet. But, like most things we use once and then throw away, these aren't the most eco-friendly. WATCH: Ourabsorbency test versus disposable paper towels here. Entire store aisles devoted to them at supermarkets (what other product can claim that?). Some are also made from agricultural waste products like the left-over chaff from rice, wheat and rye that would otherwise be discarded or burned, giving them extra zero waste cred. Cloud Paper offers a subscription service so you'll always have a stash of bamboo paper towels (nestled in recyclable, plastic-free packaging) waiting for you at home. 365 by Whole Foods Market Paper Towels ($4.99/ 3 rolls), Why they're better: Made from bamboo and plant waste, plastic-free packaging. Proudly created with, detailed review on Who Gives a Crap toilet paper, Cellulose sponges are easy to clean and maintain. These environmentally friendly paper towels are also super strong and absorbant. Not only are these household items the eco product youve been waiting for, they come in a huge range of the most amazing designs! After a lot of trial and error, Nature Bee has perfected their beeswax wraps which are made from 100% cotton fabric, locally-sourced beeswax, certified food-safe pine tree resin and sustainably harvested organic jojoba oil. These ancient, multicellular creatures are in fact sea animals, and theyve been around for millions of years. We use them for all kinds of clean-ups and then throw them away after only one use. Premium 2-Ply Paper Towels. One way to reduce the impact of your home cleaning is to use dishcloths or reusable paper towels on spills. This dual action sponge looks pretty amazing, with spongy cellulose on one side to soak up spills, wash dishes and wipe counters, and coarse, natural loofah on the other side for those hard to clean surfaces. Here are some examples of reusable eco friendly paper towels that we love. Sustainably-made, reusable alternatives to the products you use are always gonna be better for the planet when compared to something thats cheaply made and intended to be thrown away just seconds after being used. Shop Pay Here are some eco-friendly options to check out. Disposable Paper Towels are over-used in American society because of mass consumer conditioning through massive marketing campaigns saying using and immediately throwing a sheet out is "easiest". Our throwaway culture is slowly destroying our planet. Many of the times needing many sheets to accomplish the goal. Looking for something for drying hands or dishes? No chlorine bleach or ozone-depleting chemicals used. Also known as nonpaper or paperless towels, unpaper towels are eco friendly reusable paper towels that can be used just like normal paper towel but surprise they can be washed and reused. Step 2: Make the switch. Check out this detailed review on Who Gives a Crap toilet paper.). A B-Corp certified company, Who Gives a Crap provides carbon-neutral shipping and even donates 50% of their profits. This is a very green option as paper made from bamboo accounts for 65% lower carbon emissions compared to paper made from trees. Then look no further than UNpaper Towels or a Swedish dish cloth. Vidya is an environmental lawyer from India, with special interests in biodiversity, climate change and sustainability issues. And that argument also doesnt take into consideration all of the other resources used to produce paper towels. Visa. Anti-Microbial Clean n' Wipe Cloths - Comparable to Clorox Handi Wipes - 6 pack, Cellulose Sponge Cloths aka "Swedish Cloth"- 2 pack, Swiffer Sweeper Compatible Dry Sweeping Cloth Refills, 32 Count, 3,000 Tons of Waste to our Landfills DAILY), CCPA - Privacy Policy Notice for CA residents, One 30 count roll replaces up to 13,260 Disposable Paper Towel Sheets, Each Perforated Sheet can be used over and over and over again, lasting weeks or longer (depending on household usage), Ultra Absorbent and "Wicks" Faster than average paper towels meaning speedier clean ups, Save Landfills (In the USA alone, our abuse of regular paper towels contributes, Open jars and remove lids easier with a sheet of Wowables, Use with or without your favorite cleaner, Use Dry top pick up spills but damp for general cleaning, Use One Sheet Over and Over for Drying out Produce and Vegetables, 60 Day Money Back Guarantee (see this link for more details).