No joke, this was my Kleenex usage after one day.
As a person with environmental and food allergies, Kleenex, or facial tissues, are a necessity in every room in the house. Every morning before getting out of bed I would be found sneezing, and subsequently blowing my nose several times before even getting out of bed.
I thought I was doing a good thing by throwing these out into our municipal compost bins. I mean, they're being composted, right? Returning the fibres into the environment?
BUT where do the tissues come from? They are a paper product, so they come from trees. Many brands have "Sustainable Foresting" seals on their packaging. However, trees take many decades to grow to full size. I personally think that a tree that stands, providing homes for wildlife and oxygen for us to breathe is far better than being reduced to a small cardboard box and pieces of soft fluffies that we use for 15 seconds before throwing away. Not to mention the chlorine and bleach that are used in the processing of the wood pulp and going into our waterways.
When I was in the process of sourcing fabrics for the various baby bibs and wipes, I had settled on Baby Bamboo Terry cloth as the absorbent material. One day as I was cutting some of the fabric for wipes, I thought to myself, what if I just used these as single-ply cloths instead of Kleenex? After all, for centuries we have been using handkerchiefs to wipe our noses, why not?
So I cut up a few 8"x8" squares and serged the edges, and placed them beside my bed that night.
I thought I was doing a good thing by throwing these out into our municipal compost bins. I mean, they're being composted, right? Returning the fibres into the environment?
BUT where do the tissues come from? They are a paper product, so they come from trees. Many brands have "Sustainable Foresting" seals on their packaging. However, trees take many decades to grow to full size. I personally think that a tree that stands, providing homes for wildlife and oxygen for us to breathe is far better than being reduced to a small cardboard box and pieces of soft fluffies that we use for 15 seconds before throwing away. Not to mention the chlorine and bleach that are used in the processing of the wood pulp and going into our waterways.
When I was in the process of sourcing fabrics for the various baby bibs and wipes, I had settled on Baby Bamboo Terry cloth as the absorbent material. One day as I was cutting some of the fabric for wipes, I thought to myself, what if I just used these as single-ply cloths instead of Kleenex? After all, for centuries we have been using handkerchiefs to wipe our noses, why not?
So I cut up a few 8"x8" squares and serged the edges, and placed them beside my bed that night.
 A stack of 14 bamboo hankies is enough to get me through one week. | They worked amazingly! Some points to note:
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Some other facts about Bamboo:
For more information on bamboo fabric, you can go here.
I do still keep a box of Kleenex out for guests, but personally I have saved so much in the waste I produce!
Give them a try! You can purchase your own set of 7 here :)
- Bamboo has antibacterial properties and is odorless and chemical free (requires no pesticides to grow). The fabric I purchase for my bamboo products carries Oeko-Tex 100 certification.
- The bamboo plant matures in 2 years, as opposed to the 90 year old trees that are clear cut for facial tissues.
- Bamboo produced for textiles is not the same bamboo in a panda's diet.
For more information on bamboo fabric, you can go here.
I do still keep a box of Kleenex out for guests, but personally I have saved so much in the waste I produce!
Give them a try! You can purchase your own set of 7 here :)
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