I Stopped Buying Paper Napkins and Started Using These Instead
In 2020, I swapped out my paper towels with Swedish dish cloths. There was already a shortage of paper towels and, at the time, I wanted to reduce my trips to the store. Plus, Swedish dish cloths are a more sustainable option.
Since then, I’ve been inspired to swap out all my single-use paper products. And most recently, I started using cloth napkins as a substitute for paper napkins.
What Made Me Quit Paper Napkins for Good
Overall, cloth napkins are more sustainable than disposable paper napkins. Most cloth napkins are made of cotton or a cotton blend, while paper napkins are made of wood pulp blend, a manufacturing process that is far more resource-intensive. Paper napkins also can’t be recycled or reused, so cloth napkins are the best option when it comes to reducing landfill waste.
Unless I am eating something particularly messy or stainable (like curry or chicken wings) I will typically reuse my cloth napkins for about four days and will only wash all of them at once. I have a total of 22 napkins. When I was using paper napkins or paper towels, I couldn’t even begin to quantify how many napkins I threw out on a daily basis — even if I had only wet them with water.
Cycling through these cloth napkins, rather than reaching for yet another paper napkin, has definitely helped me stay aware of the wastefulness of disposable products and prioritize eco-friendliness when I can. While cloth napkins are pricier than paper ones, the long-term savings, both monetary and environmental, are more than worth it.
