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Thursday, May 30, 2013

Loving People Towels


Before we moved from Ga, we had a pretty good system of using more reusable towels for cleaning up messes, drying our hands, and were even finally using cloth napkins at every meal. And no, there's nothing extra "fancy" about using cloth napkins. It made more sense- less paper towels that cost anywhere between 5-15 cents each, and you never just use one... Even paper towels made from recycled materials still uses some "virgin" pulp (trees), water, energy and tons of chemicals. So, even if you spend the few extra dollars on "recycled" material paper towels in your home, you're still not decreasing your carbon footprint. However, I won't lie. My cloth napkins are still packed in with my china, in the garage. Which needs to be unpacked. Tomorrow, while Nugget is at Pre-School.



I came across this company called PeopleTowels on zulily.com about 6 weeks ago while ordering other stuff for Nugget (pajamas and more fluff, to be honest). I figured since I was already going to be racking up a pretty nice total, I'd love to pick up a few of these adorable towels for our house to use in the kitchen, wipe up face messes, etc. I liked the designs, the price really wasn't bad, especially for organic, fair trade, 100% cotton cloths. They measure 9" x 9" inches per towel, made from 100% Certified Organic Cotton, are Certified Fair Trade and made with Eco Friendly, low impact dyes.  They are super light weight, and the fabric is highly absorbent & fast drying that features a cloth loop on the back of the top right corner for easy attaching to hooks or kitchen knobs!

From People Towels' facebook page
Once I received them and started using them, I absolutely had to contact PeopleTowels to see if they'd like us to review their product here on The Nurse Mommy. Well, they said yes, because here we are! I've had a few great email exchanges with the co-founder and found that although they typically do not work with bloggers, she could tell just how much I really loved her product. While I intended on using PeopleTowels primarily for home use, Linda told me about their inspiration for their product and I was in love. She told me that PeopleTowels developed their product after a Japanese tradition of Bring Your Own "BYO" towels, where instead of using paper towels out in public, you use your own small hand towel that you bring. If you don't BYO towel, then you just wipe your hands on whatever (front or back of pants, etc)... This idea is just brilliant. I mean how often do we see cans like the one to the right? Really!?


Here's what PeopleTowels says about their product:
People Towels are the newest concept in sustainability, and the latest in eco-chic fashion. An on-the-go, sustainable alternative to paper towels in public facilities, these reusable personal hand towels are made of a patent-pending fabric that’s 100% certified organic Fair Trade cotton.  The light-weight fabric is absorbent, yet dries quickly.
While reusable personal hand towels are new to the US, the Japanese have been using personal hand towels in public for decades. Japan is an island nation with limited space for waste disposal, so they are very Eco-conscious and value conservation. Usually there are no disposable paper towels in public facilities in Japan. You either dry your hands with your own reusable hand towel or there’s always the “back of the pants” alternative.

In the US, disposable paper towels are widely available in public facilities. We can all picture those wastebaskets overflowing with paper towels. The average person alone uses 2,400 – 3,000 paper towels at work a year. Like plastic grocery bags, disposable water bottles and paper cups, single-use paper towels leave a big carbon footprint on the planet.

Simply tote your reusable PeopleTowel in your bag, purse, or backpack and take it out to dry your hands after washing in public facilities. Use a PeopleTowel for a day or two then throw it in the wash or hand wash it. It’s simple, easy and a small sustainable eco-habit with a tremendous positive environmental impact.
Check out People Towels' Inspiration page for more of their story.

So, I decided to take the challenge. I clipped a PeopleTowel into my purse using a metal binder ring while out running errands. Each store I went into that I would have used a napkin or each time I would have used a paper towel in the ladies' room, I used my PeopleTowel. But, for experimental purposes, I tried to remember to grab a napkin, paper towel or whatever I'd be drying my hands off with. One lady at Target even said "How cool and green is that!".


 So, how many towels did I save today? Well, including supper (where I would have used my fancy paper napkins), I would have saved at least 10-12 paper towels. Now, if you include places like Target with the pull down levers, I definitely would have used more paper towel. Why? Because, people really like to pull that thing down, one person pulled it down FIVE times! Who needs that much paper towel to dry their hands?

So below is an example of how a PeopleTowel compares to other sized towels and napkins.

Comparison 1: PeopleTowel versus regular roll paper towel. 
The People Towel absorbs MORE and is reusable.

 

Comparison 2: PeopleTowel versus paper towel from office bathroom 
(the pull out roll of the circle kind). Three sheets came out in one pull. Now, this is office, specifically caters to children, so imagine how much more fun they have pulling out MORE paper towels.
The People Towel WINS again.

  

Comparison 3: PeopleTowel versus paper napkin from restaurant
 Now, every single person here knows that you end up using like ten of these when you're out eating. At least, if you have a couple People Towels in your purse or diaper bag, less waste. PLUS- a wet PeopleTowel is much easier to clean the face of a messy little Nugget, rather than these napkins that disintegrate.


 Comparison 4: PeopleTowel versus "fancy" dinner napkin at home
 This is really just for size comparison. I'm sure I could use this as a dinner napkin if my cloth ones don't make it out of storage, but they definitely work!!

 


As you can tell, I absolutely love PeopleTowels. One more thing about PeopleTowels? They belong to a foundation called 1% for the Planet, in which the members donate 1% of their profits which then are disbursed to environmental agencies- there are literally thousands of non-profits benefiting from this foundation. If that's not one more reason to love a small business in this crazy economy, then I don't know what is!


Stop Waste Before it Starts – Precycle with Reusable PeopleTowels
The PeopleTowels’ Formula summarizes the environmental benefits of reusable PeopleTowels:
The green sustainable choice is clear: 
precycle with reusable PeopleTowels and stop waste before it starts.

Make sure you check out our PeopleTowels giveaway here on The Nurse Mommy, in the Green Your Summer blog hop hosted by the Blogging Mamas Network!




Disclosure: Michelle from the Nurse Mommy received a sample of People Towels in consideration of review. No additional compensation was received for this posting. The Nurse Mommy blog will always provide honest opinions, beliefs or experiences on products reviewed. We will only recommend products or services that we feel are of benefit to our readers. Links enclosed may contain affiliate links. If you have any questions, please contact Michelle from The Nurse Mommy at babagrlshell {at} gmail {dot} com

29 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing! Love these.

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  2. We go through tons of paper towels and I sometimes feel guilty about the waste. I'll tear off a sheet, or two when I'm working in the kitchen, use it then lay it on the counter while I move along with my work. I'll come back and use the same towel until it is falling apart but it's never as effective as when it comes fresh off the roll. People Towels would eliminate the need for rolls!! I could use them until I'm ready to toss them in, wash them, and use them again. With three little boys they would eliminate the need for constantly buying paper towels!

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  3. It makes so sense if you go through it daily and just think about what an impact just one person, then one family can make! Every family member could choose a style that favors them best and start helping the environment, one dry hand at a time! Also, it's much easier to throw in a load of laundry than it is to go to a grocery store just to buy disposable products.

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  4. I am trying to work up the "courage" to switch us to cloth towels. From this side it feels like it will be a lot more work plus the start up costs are a bit daunting. (Until I look over a few months worth of receipts and see what we spend on paper towels). I do so much laundry as it is but I don't like using the single use towels. It is wasteful AND they aren't all that "good" as far as cleaning up messes etc. It's time to bite the bullet and just do it.... we have made so many other "green" lifestyle changes.... I guess if I can cloth diaper then I can handle people towels. (I just gave myself a peptalk... thanks for listening) ;-P

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  5. I like the idea of organic, fair trade, 100% cotton cloths and the idea of BYO towel idea.

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  6. It is about time that there was a greener approach to paper towels. I try to use hand towels more but then it seems like I do more laundry

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  8. I love that there is a green version of paper towels. I think my favorite part of them is the loop that you can attach a clip to for easy transport.

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  9. I actually just got my first PEOPLE TOWELS about a month ago. Right away I noticed one awesome benefit. The cat isn't interested in knocking the fun looking "tube" off the counter & then destroying it all over the floor! lol I am 48 years old & just beginning to go "green". Conservation,carbon footprints & things of that nature were just never important to me. Now that I have grandchildren I am really anxious to teach them how they can make a difference .

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  10. these are really great and so pretty too! I'd just bring them everywhere... and with kids you always need one! :)

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  11. I thought it very interesting that Japan has the BYO towel and that there are no disposable paper towels in public facilities in Japan, something I will have to remember if I ever get there :) Also, I like the reusable towel movement here, and think it would be great if more people got involved!

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  12. We have also just used kitchen towels for everything at home--cleaning up messes, messy faces and hands, dishes...you name it! However, it really NEVER occurred to me to bring towels other places when we go out! What a great idea!! I like that theses towels look easy to travel with (it would look a little odd bringing one of our generic kitchen towels) and carry a message on them for a reminder to all! Great idea!

    mummert604@live.com

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  13. I love this. I have just made the switch to mama cloth and cloth diapers and would love to also go un-paper towels. I love companies like this. It really make the switch from disposable paper products to reusable cloth products more main stream and easy for everyone

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  14. We no longer use paper towels for the kitchen. We do keep a roll around in case of really icky pet messes, but otherwise, we are pretty much a paper-free home. I love the idea of clipping one to your bag for when you are out and about! Besides, paper napkins and paper towels always tear and are not that great any way! Great review!

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  15. Great review! I would love to try these because I hate wasting paper towels!! I want to make all parts of my life eco friendly and sustainable!

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  16. WE haven't used paper towels for the last two years. (Only when we go camping!) But these are so, so much nicer than the rags that we currently use. I love that they are organic, and I never, ever would have thought to carry it with me. With a new baby due soon, I think I would stash a few of these in the diaper bag to use for whatever!

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  17. I cloth diaper, and we use cloth wipes, too. After reading this, I CANNOT believe I never thought of using reusable "paper" towels!!! We use paper towels on a regular basis, but we make it a point to buy only the 100% recycled kind. But what's more eco than getting rid of the waste altogether? Thank you for sharing :)!

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  18. That's so great that you clipped it onto your bag and used it while you were out. I would save so much paper during the day, just in the restroom at work alone!

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  19. Thanks for the idea to clip the towel onto a diaper bag.

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  20. I am very stingy with my paper towels at home, but I have never thought of my impact while out in public. Thanks for the insight (:

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  21. I am almost embarrassed to admit this; but we go through a lot of paper towels. I just have never found another way that is acceptable to me. Most rags, towels, etc. start to smell really bad after a few uses, especially in the summer. I am open to change though, and if I were given these to try out, I'd give them a fair try before judging.

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  22. I like they are organic and have so many fun prints to choose from and we are saving the environment by not using paper towels!

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  23. I love that they are more absorbent than paper towels

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  24. Sherry ComptonSunday, June 09, 2013

    It's scary when you think about how many paper towels we go through. My daughter-in-law is trying to be more green and use reusable towels. They can be a big help since they last longer, are durable, and more absorbent.
    savewish@yahoo.com
    Sherry Compton

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  25. I get my paper towels for free, and I feel absolutely horrible for the amount i go though with myself and my two (messy) boys. Unfortunately money is a huge issue for us as we have no income.
    Maybe sometime I'll be able to save up some, and buy these before I love the idea!

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  26. I love the idea of drastically reducing the use of paper towels in the home. This is such a wonderful thing to do.

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  27. Honestly, I usually use cloth napkins, cloth wipes, or dish cloths at home. But when out I may not have these items with me. I really like the idea of the challenge. It would certainly help keep my jeans dry ;-)

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  28. this is a great idea and it helps the environment i'm always looking for something to get rid of paper towels

    lmurley2000@yahoo.com

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  29. Thanks for your review. That's really interesting about Japan and what a great challenge. It's amazing the amount of paper we go thru in one day w/o giving it a second thought -- such a waste.

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