Green gauntlet: PeopleTowels, not paper towels
Do they pass the grade, or are they just one more thing to buy?
People often ask me whether, given the choice, they should the electric hand dryer or a paper towel when they're in a public restroom.
I've seen plenty of signs claiming that the dryers are better, but I suppose it also depends, in part, on where your electricity comes from. If a solar panel is providing the juice, by all means, go for the dryer.
Now, a company has come up with what they say is a better idea: PeopleTowels. Or, a "B.Y.O.Towel."
One of the co-founders, Mary Wallace, often traveled to Japan, where many public restrooms don't offer towels, and people bring their own.
The People Towels are nine inches square, made of certified organic and Fair Trade cotton and printed with enviro slogans with "low-impact dyes." The company says they are highly absorbent and durable, and they dry in five to ten minutes -- assuming you hang them from your purse or backpack, I guess, which is what the photos suggest.
The company says that by switching from paper to People for a year, the average person would save a quarter of a tree, reduce landfill waste by 23 pounds (I suppose they count more than just the towel trash), conserve 250 gallons of water and cut carbon emissions by 34 pounds.
Two towels plus an "Eco Sack" cost $15.99.
I was mulling all this over when my friend Sylvie Verdant popped over for a cup of organic herb tea. I never know when to expect her; she's always busy with something-or-other over in that solar-powered treehouse she lives in. OR she's dashing off a lengthy e-mail (definitely NOT a paper letter) concerning some polluter she has uncovered or her latest thoughts on orangutans and palm oil. So don't tell me she isn't real!
But here she was, and I told her about PeopleTowels. Do I need to describe her scathing look?
"If you're so hot on bringing a towel everywhere you go, haven't you got one around here?" she wanted to know. "Do you really need to buy new?"
But ...all that paper...
Sylvie walked over to the sink and, ignoring her usual fastidiousness sbout NOT turning on water unless it is absolutely needed, she twisted the tap and wet her hands.
Then, she shook them to remove any droplets.
"Just watch," she said, as she waved her hands in the air to dry them.
But, as part of this weekly feature, where we run a "green" product through the gauntlet of public opinion, we want to know what YOU think. Visit the PeopleTowels website and let us know by commenting below. Is this a green idea or not?