PaperlessKitchen Blog

UCSB's Paper Towel Free Project Helping to Save Trees

This school year, there is a new push to go paperless at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Called the Paper Towel Free Project, the move is being orchestrated by the he Zero Waste Committee at the university and by the school’s Residence Hall Association.

 

In two of the campuses' dormitories, environmental floors have had their paper towel dispensers removed from bathrooms. Everyone who lives on the floor was given a reusable hand towel, and there are hooks provided in the lavatories for storing the towels while using the restroom.

 

The project follows a ban on paper towels in all bathroom residence halls at the University of California, Santa Cruz, a part of the university's plan to produce zero waste by 2020. Paper towels are still being kept in kitchen and laundry areas for use when there are spills or other messes with which to be dealt.

 

The story of the Paper Towel Free Project as told in The Bottom Line can serve as inspiration for anyone looking to ditch paper towels and establish a paperless kitchen. You can start small; try only using paper towels for emergencies and using a reusable towel or green disposable at other times to get started. Gradually, you can decrease usage for other purposes and eventually switch only to reusables and unpaper towels.

 

                                       

                                                Check out our paper towel alternatives!

 

Check Out Our Favorite Unpaper Towels

Finding ways to ditch paper towels in the kitchen is one of the most important parts of establishing a truly paperless kitchen. Our paper towels alternatives collection has a wide selection of unpaper towels that you can use in place of paper in your kitchen. But which one is the best? It really depends on your needs. Here are some of our top picks for paper towel replacements for specific purposes.

 

- For Your Paper Towel Holder - If you love the convenience of having paper towels within easy reach on a roll in your kitchen, Bambooee Bamboo Paper Towels are the perfect alternative. They come on a roll just like ordinary paper towels, but they are made from organic bamboo. You can also launder and reuse the towels before throwing them away.

 

 

                                                 

 

 

- For Dish Drying - The Full Circle In the Buff Dish Towel is the perfect choice for drying dishes in place of paper. The towel is made of 70 percent bamboo and 30 percent organic cotton, so it's both durable and soft. We have a selection of colors to match your decor.

 

                                               

 

 

- For Those Uh-Oh Moments - When you have a sudden spill or mess on your hands, you'll love having the Full Circle Magnetic Kitchen Towel around to save the day. This towel has a magnet sewn into its bamboo and organic cotton fabric, so it will always be right where you need it.

 

                                          

 

- For Cleaning - Instead of grabbing a paper towel to wipe down the counters, use a SKOY cloth. When wet, these paper towel alternatives made from cellulose fibers are reusable, biodegradable cleaning machines. We have a variety of SKOY value packs available to help you stock up.

 

                               

 

 

- For Hand Drying - PeopleTowels are colorful, unique square organic cotton towels that are perfectly sized for drying your hands. The towels are sold individually and in multi-packs.

 

                        

 

What's your favorite unpaper towel in the Paperless Kitchen collection? Let us know in the "Comments" section.

 

 

Meet Jimmy Towels!

Here at Paperless Kitchen, our family of products is continuing to grow. We recently added a new line of replacements for paper towels to our collection that we wanted to introduce to you. Called Jimmy Pocket Towels, these sustainable towels are designed specifically for use when on the go.

 

Each Jimmy Pocket Towel consists of two pieces. First, there's a waterproof pocket case with a zipper that holds the towel. There are three different styles available. The two-color stylish Sporty Jimmy and the luxury wool Dapper Jimmy are made in America, while the simpler Knock-Off Jimmy is discounted in price and produced in China. The pouches come in many different colors and patterns and fit easily into the pocket of a pair of jeans or a jacket.

 

Inside of the zippered pouch is the actual Jimmy Towel. These towels consist of two layers: an outer microfiber shell and an inner synthetic chamois core. The microfiber is very absorbent and makes for easy drying, and the chamois wicks moisture away from the surface to help prevent dripping. The towel dries rapidly when laid flat or hung up, and the case keeps your pocket dry until you have a chance to dry the towel.

 

Jimmy Towels are machine-washable once you remove the chamois core. Replacement towels are available, so that you can always have a fresh towel on hand.

 

We invite you to check out Jimmy Towels today and let us know what you think of these unique replacements for paper towels!

                                       

Green Dorm Room Must-Haves for Back to Campus

It's time to head back to campus for the 2013-2014 school year, and everywhere, people are starting to stock up on supplies. To help you get the necessities and still be green, here are top 10 Must-Haves for 2013 Back to Campus.

1. Bambooee Paper Towels will be a lifesaver for cleaning up spills in dorm rooms. They're also a tree saver since they're made from 100 percent bamboo.

 2. Eat Cleaning Wipes help remove bacteria, dirt and chemicals from the surface of fruits and veggies and are useful for polishing off an apple that's been stuffed in a backpack or kept on a desk.

3. ThinkSport sports bottles make it easy to stay hydrated while on campus. You can also carry coffee in them, and the ice filter can be used to brew tea. 

4. To-Go Ware 3-Tier Tiffins are a convenient way to take an entire meal to eat while on the go on campus or studying outdoors.

5. The e-Cloth Screen Cleaning Pack will help keep computers, tablets and smart phones free of fingerprints all semester long.

6. PeopleTowels are the green alternative to paper towels for hand wiping. Because of their compact size, you can easily tuck one in a backpack for use on the go.

7. The Twist Naked Sponge Kit gives you a variety of natural plant-based sponges to use for a variety of cleaning tasks in dorms.

8. A 100-pack of Bambu Veenerware plates will get college students through many boxes of pizza.

9. Eco Products Plant Starch Silverware is another surefire hit in the dorms and come in huge boxes of 1,000.

10. Method Tub and Tile Wipes will be a lifesaver when the ensuite bathroom starts to look dingy.

You can get all of these great green alternatives here at Paperless Kitchen along with tons of other back to school products.

Four Great Paper Towel Replacements

In addition to the season of holiday shopping, December also brings us to the close of another year and a time to start setting goals for next year. Establishing a paperless kitchen and living a greener life are great resolutions that you can make for 2013, and this month, we'll be giving you many tips for simple changes that you can make to decrease the size of your eco footprint.

In the kitchen, paper towels are one of the largest sources of waste. Earth 911 reports that 13 billion pounds of paper towels are used annually in the U.S. and that if each of us just used one less towel per day, we could save more than 5.7 million pounds of paper per year.

So what do you use in place of paper towels? Here's a few of our favorite paper towel alternatives: 

- Bambooee Reusable Bamboo Towels are made from sustainable bamboo instead of paper. Machine-washable and reusable, the towels come in a roll of 20, which can be used in your paper towel holder. One roll of Bambooee towels is the equivalent to 60 roll of paper towels, which adds up to a big paper savings.

 

- SKOY cloths are individual towels made from cellulose instead of paper. The towels are 100 percent biodegradable and machine-washable. One SKOY cloth is the equivalent to 15 rolls of paper towels, and these handy cloths can be used for virtually any task you'd ordinarily use a paper towel for.

 

- PeopleTowels are certified organic cotton towels that are square rather than rectangular. The towels feature colorful graphics produced with low-impact inks and are ideal for drying your hands. Their small size makes PeopleTowels very portable, so you can use them in public washrooms, at the gym and anywhere else where you would ordinarily find paper towels.

 

- Full Circle Magnetic Stick'Em Dish Towel is a handy reusable dish towel that you can use to clean up messes and spills in place of paper. The towel is outfitted with a magnet, so you can keep it handy on the fridge to reach for when kitchen catastrophes strike.

 

All of these great paper towel replacements are available for purchase here at Paperless Kitchen. Which ones have you tried? Share your stories in the comments section. 

No More Paper Towel Guilt!

Years ago, when I first realized that I could buy 15 rolls of paper towels for $25 at my local membership warehouse club, it seemed like a great deal. I paid just $1.66 per roll and rarely had to worry about running out. But as the months and years went by and I continued to purchase packages of paper towel rolls so large that they barely fit in the trunk of my car, I started to think about the effect that this “bargain” was having on the environment.

I already knew that trees are being cut down at an unsustainable rate, but when I learned that 3,000 tons of paper towel waste is produced each day and that 40% of US landfill trash is paper products, I began to think about my own contribution to this ecological nightmare. It was time to put a stop to my addiction. But how? I had grown accustomed to reaching for a paper towel every time I needed to clean, dry, wipe, strain, or cover anything.

That’s when I learned about Bambooee, the reusable bamboo towel. A roll of Bambooee looks just like a roll of paper towels, except it’s made up of 20 sheets of organic bamboo, which is the world’s fastest growing plant. It is 100% biodegradable and requires no pesticides, insecticides, or fertilizers. Bambooee cloths are strong and absorbent, and one roll lasts as long as 60 rolls of paper towels! That’s six months of paper towel use for the average family. To top it off, with every roll of Bambooee purchased, the Trees for the Future agroforestry training program plants a tree in one of the thousands of communities where they work around the world.

I’m proud to say that I now live in a paper towel-free household. My guilt is gone and my wallet is happy.  Making the switch to Bambooee was a simple lifestyle change that has allowed me to become a part of the eco-solution. Now that’s a habit I can feel good about!

A question for other Bambooee users out there:

Any tips for how to keep track of different cloths while they’re in use? I don’t want to mix up the cloth I use cleaning products on with the cloth that I wipe food with, but they are all the same color. Looking forward to hearing your advice! Please leave comments below!

Shake and Fold - The New Environmental Dance

I've always been a big fan of TEDTalks, they provide great insight into the research and findings of some of the smartest people in the world. Rarely though are they funny, informative and related to something inside your home and office.  I just stumbled onto a TedTalk, however, that was all three.  Joe Smith, an Oregon based activist, delivered a Ted Talk that seems shockingly obvious but has real world implications that are ignored by most of us. In his lecture, which can be seen here, Joe teaches the audience how to properly use a paper towel. You might ask...really?

Yes, it might seem like the speaker is talking down to his audience like they are a group of school children who need to be taught how to go to the bathroom. But the logic behind him showing his overwhelmingly simple technique, Shake and Fold, is sound.  Americans currently use 13 billion paper towels every year. If every American cut back on paper towel use by one towel a day for an entire year, collectively as a nation the US would save 571 million pounds of paper annually.  Those numbers are shocking enough for everyone to take part in Joe Smith's comically obvious approach to drying your hands with paper towels. Shake them first. Fold your single paper towel. Wipe your hands completely dry.  Shake and Fold - it's that easy.  

I found this infographic which outlines Joe Smith's technique and the numbers supporting his environmental dance moves.  

Does anyone else have a better technique that will save millions of pounds of paper a year?