Cloth vs. Paper Towels
Let’s compare both options:
Cloth towels can be relatively cheap, and I will share some options below, but once you buy cloth towels, you get to use, rinse and repeat, which is not the case with paper towel counterparts. An argument against using cloth towels would be that they use extra water to wash, and that has its own environmental impact, which is true. but let’s crunch the numbers. Paper towels require 10 gallons of water to make 1 pound of pulp for paper. Also, paper towels cannot be recycled, as they are considered contaminated waste, and on average paper towels produce 13 billion pounds of landfill waste which contributes methane to the atmosphere during decomposition, methane is a greenhouse gas which is 28 times stronger than CO2. Speaking of CO2, to make 1 kg of paper produces an estimated 1 kg of stored CO2 in the felled trees.
Regarding the cloth towels, they come with some downsides in that it takes over 5200 gallons of water to produce just over 2 lbs. of cotton. This means that similar to paper towels it takes considerable resources to produce enough cotton for just a few small towels. There is also the consideration that while the cloth towels can be re-used, they need to be washed. I find that, at most, I use one extra load of laundry per week for cloth towels and cloth napkins, but mostly they can just be sorted into a regular load of laundry, not requiring extra water consumption. If we estimate that it would be one extra load of laundry per week, the average front-loaded, high efficiency washing machine uses between 7 and 10 gallons per load.
Advantage goes to the cloth towels, not only for cost, but also for environmental impact. The main reason for the preference towards cloth towels is that the disadvantages listed above only happen once when using cloth vs. paper. With inflation rates of over 4.7% per year, environmental impacts of deforestation, waste decomposition, and water consumption, the paper towels are becoming harder to justify in a weekly budget, and overall climate impact.
What are some good options?
Dollar Tree Bundle
Dollar Tree sells kitchen towels in a bundle of 24 towels with a price of $30 ($1.25/towel). This is a great starter bundle, and is gentle on the wallet
Walmart Bundle
Walmart also has a bundle that comes in a mix of color and check. For 12 towels it would only cost $19 and is a reasonable way to start using towels, and determine if you need more of less.
Target Bundle
Target has a 12 pack of microfiber kitchen towels that can come in a multitude of bright colors. The bundle cost $21.49 (on sale), and is a good utility towel for a multitude of indoor and outdoor purposes.
Slowtide Singles
Slowtide is a sustainable brand that sells single towels that are more stylish as well as better for the environment. They cost more per towel, but also have a small environmental footprint, and they donate 1% of every order to support a nonprofit of your choosing.