This month our green couple put paper products to the test, and we don’t mean for the office – paper towels, plates, napkins – even toilet paper. Will stewardship and the softer side come together?
Seventh Generation Napkins
100% Recycled Paper, 90% post-consumer content
She Said | 3 stars
I usually prefer cloth over paper napkins, to reduce waste. But sometimes you just need paper napkins, and buying 100% recycled is the green way to go. Why is it important to buy products made with recycled content rather than “virgin pulp?” Do you like forests and all the creatures that call them home? ‘Nuff said. These napkins are soft and lightly textured, but were a bit too thin, and I occasionally needed two of them to do the job.
He said | 4 stars
These are napkins. They work just like any other napkins, but they’re Earth-friendly, and dye- and fragrance-free. I read somewhere that if every household switched from “virgin pulp” napkins to these, we would save almost a million trees. And that’s a huge impact for such a small switch.
Earth First Paper Towels
100% Recycled Paper, 80% post-consumer content
She Said | 5 stars
It’s easy to be green with these paper towels! They stood up to cleaning mirrors, countertops, and messy spills without falling apart. They aren’t made from trees, and are whitened without chlorine—all from a company right here in Phoenix. I’d buy them again in a heartbeat.
He said | 4 stars
These Earth First towels are made from non-chlorinated, 100% recycled paper. They cost less and absorbed just as much liquid as the name-brand towels (30 mL per sheet). Even the packaging is biodegradable. I’m sold.
Green Mission Bathroom Tissue
100% Recycled Paper, 80% post-consumer content
She Said | 2 stars
Sharing bathroom details isn’t typically a habit of mine, but this is in the name of research, so here goes! I gotta admit, the super-textured and crunchy stiff feel of this tissue worried me. It wasn’t cheese grater bad, but it was a bit rough and not always sturdy. Sorry, tissue, but you gotta stay in one piece while doing the job.
He said | 4 stars
Wow, there’s like a million jokes here but I think I’m just going to play this one straight. I can’t lie, this bath tissue was definitely ROUGH, if you know what I mean – but if it’s the price I have to pay to save countless trees and keep nasty chemicals out of our waterways, then so be it.
365 Facial Tissue
100% Recycled Paper, 80% post-consumer content
She Said | 4 stars
With 100% recycled material, I was expecting these to be equivalent to wiping my nose with industrial sandpaper. Not so! While I’d choose something a tad softer while battling a cold, these are great for daily or occasional use. Your nose, and the forests, will thank you for it.
He said | 4 stars
I don’t know if it was good luck or bad luck that caused the wife and me to come down with colds during the tissue review month, but it happened! I put these tissues through the wringer, blowing like crazy, and I never got that irritated Rudolph the Reindeer nose. These tissues were soft even with 80% post-consumer material. Enough said.
World Centric 10” 3 Compartment Plates
Made from wheat straw fiber
She said | 5 stars
Save a tree and get these plates made from the stalks of wheat plants, a renewable resource. They only come in light brown, but have a smooth surface and an overall high-quality feel. They were very sturdy, and held up to every meal we tried. If you ever wanted to eat a steak off of a disposable dish, this is your go-to plate. And when you’re done, they are fully compostable in your backyard in three months!
He said | 3 stars
World Centric thought outside the box and used a byproduct of the wheat and sugar industry to make paper plates. I was a bit concerned that they might be flimsy, so I soaked one in water for an hour and I still had a hard time poking a fork through. I would prefer a recycled plate but this is definitely a step in the right direction.
