Seventh Generation Paper Towels: A Better Option

We don’t have to build a backyard wind turbine or run our cars on used cooking oil to help reduce unnecessary consumption. We can start with paper towels.

The easiest thing we can do to help the greater good is to stop buying paper towels printed with color designs. Can someone give one good reason why we need petroleum-based dyes on paper towels? Talk about waste for no reason!

(If we are relying on printed paper towels for kitchen beautification, we have larger interior design issues. One national brand’s web site advertises that “with a whole range of designer prints, cleaning is now stylish.” Whatever.)

While we’re at it, let’s just stop buying the big national brands (Bounty, Scott, Brawny, etc.) made from virgin pulp and whitened with chlorine. Millions of trees in Canada are cut down annually for disposable paper. The chlorine used in the bleaching process ends up as toxins in our water and air supply.

When shopping, it’s just as easy to now buy paper towels made from 100% recycled paper and whitened without chlorine. Products from Seventh Generation, a leading environmentally-conscious company, are omnipresent, while Marcal has undergone a rebranding to highlight its green roots. (Click on photo for detail of a Seventh Generation package.)

Depending on the store, the prices of the towels using recycled content can actually be cheaper than the national brands. And they absorb just fine.

This is absolutely a no-brainer.