Recommended: TWIST Sponges, Scrubbies and Cloths

Even sponges have back stories relating to artificial dyes, plastics and other chemicals. And since I want to avoid these things as much as possible, I skip the petroleum-based brightness and buy plant-based sponges from Twist, a Colorado-based company.
 
Twist started selling sponges, scrubbies and cleaning cloths in 2007, and I luckily discovered the products soon after. I use these three Twist products (accompanied by Twist's marketing wit): 

• Naked Sponge: ("[B]y naked, we mean without chemicals, colors, and any of the adulterated stuff you might find in traditional sponges.")
• Loofah Sponge: ("Artificial colors. Plastics. Chemical dyes. They're in your kitchen. Not in the pantry, but over by the sink. Like that neon yellow sponge with the bright green scrub side. We have a feeling that's not exactly natural. Unlike our loofah sponge, which shows its true colors: unbleached, undyed white cellulose and tan, scrubby loofah".)
• Euro Sponge Cloth: ("Paper towels have a lifespan of approximately one use. Yep, they're one and done. Then it's in the trash, on the curb and off to a landfill somewhere. Wouldn't it be better if a paper towel could be reusable and still biodegradable? Designed to work over and over instead of once? Heck, how about 1,000 times instead of once? Well it can, if you make it out of sponge. So we did.")

In general, the Twist products work great. The scrub side of the Loofah Sponge isn't as abrasive as a plastic-based scrub, but, with a little Bon Ami added, any stuck food bits come off pretty easily. 

Click here to find stores that carry Twist products.

(All products discussed within The Delicious Truth are purchased by me in stores or farmers' markets. I receive no compensation or other considerations from the companies or farmers whose products I highlight.)