Why Cloth in the Home?
Isn't the question really "WHY NOT?"
Economically...
Think about how many rolls of paper towels you use in one year. I was once a major paper towel waster, snatching them up for anything. Looking at the economical aspect of them, I was throwing money away. Sure, I have to wash and dry my "un"paper towels, but the amount of money I have saved from switching to cloth has been substantial when averaged out over my yearly budget.
Environmentally....
Yes, paper towels are biodegradable. BUT. It takes resources, people and manufacturing to make that roll of paper towels. How about the trees used to make those towels? Where are the cut down? How many does it take to make a roll of paper towels? What chemicals are used in the process? Does the manufacturer use recycled materials? What kind of energy does the manufacturing plant use? We could certainly ask the same of our fabric manufacturers who make the fabrics we use, but using 1 paper towel vs. 1 "un"paper towel, the "un"paper will be used hundreds of times in the same life-span. Maybe my diagnosis of this isn't particularly scientific, but for me, it's Common Sense. If anyone out there has some scientific data to back-up my thoughts (or prove me wrong!) please share!
Cloth in the BATHROOM?
Yes! "Un"Paper Towels in the kitchen are a nice starting point, but cloth can be expanded to your entire home. How many times have your children (or for the childless, maybe your dog!) unrolled your entire roll of toilet paper? Maybe I have a rowdy bunch, but it happened here quite frequently. I whipped up some colorful, kid-sized wipes and put them in a stack on the back of the "potty". The kids love them, and I'm not constantly running to the store for more tp.
Here at Moon Bees, our preferred Household Cloth fabric is Hemp/Cotton Fleece, and we use Hemp/ORGANIC Cotton fleece whenever possible. I love Hemp for it's naturally anti-microbial properties and the fact that it can be grown without the use of pesticides.
Moon Bees also offers household cloth in colorful and fun flannel cotton prints for the children.
The following is an overview of our sizes:
Size 4x6 is our most popular bathroom cloth as they are small enough to be placed in a nice basket or container on the back of a toilet. They are also great in the kitchen for small cleanups and scrubbing.
The 2nd size in our lineup is 8"x8". This is probably the most versitile of all the sizes. It is a good size for all kitchen jobs and can be folded in 1/2 to fit perfectly in a wipes warmer for baby wipes.
The largest size in our lineup, a true "unpaper towel" at 11x11" is great for cleaning and dish drying. The 2 ply version can be folded in thirds and used as a cloth diaper doubler or as an insert for pocket diapers!