How Green Are Your Paper Towel Brands?

Scott, So-Dri, Bounty, Brawny and Sparkle are just some of the more popular paper towel brands in the United States. Second only to toilet paper in terms of retail domination, paper towels constitute a major part of the so-called ‘tissue market’.

Paper Towel Brands History

The story of paper towels starts back about 80 years back to 1931, when, perforating a cartload of rejected toilet paper into towel-size sheets, Arthur Scott sold them as disposable paper towels.

  • Today, the production process is a little different (though essentially uniform across the range of popular paper towel brands).

  • Paper towel is basically tissue paper made from paper pulp which in turn is extracted from wood or fiber crops.

  • Paper pulp can be virgin (made directly) or recycled.

  • Paper towels are made from absorbent paper rather than cloth, but are made to resemble cloth in certain ways, allowing them to be better used for drying hands, cleaning windows, cleaning up spills and wiping away dust.

Since they are disposable, they are said to be more hygienic than ordinary dish cloths and drying cloths, primarily because they prevent the spread of germs, especially in washrooms and kitchens. However, because they are intended for single use only, they wind up having a much greater impact on the environment. This is the case not only in the process of their disposal, but also in their initial production and processing.

Paper Towels And The Environment

The United States consumes by far the most tissue products of any country, that is to say, 50% more than Europe and almost 500% more than Latin America. Now, if the paper towel brands you use are made from virgin pulp, this means that the materials used come directly from trees. If every household in America purchased one pack of paper towels made from virgin pulp, that would call for the felling of 1.4 million trees. If, on the other hand, all households in the US replaced one pack of their virgin fiber napkins with one of 100% recycled paper towels, well, that could potentially save those 1 million trees from felling.

The Color White

Just as great an environmental concern is bleach.

  • Did you know that the whiter your paper towels are, the more bleach (you can surmise) the manufacturers used on them?

  • Paper, in case you didn’t know, is naturally brown in color, so to make paper products white, manufacturers have to add bleach.

  • Elemental Chlorine (chlorine gas) is a commonly used form of bleach that is responsible for the release of carcinogens (cancer-causing compounds) like dioxins and furans.

  • These chemicals have a very adverse effects on humans, as well as on aquatic resources and wildlife when toilet paper is eventually disposed of in landfills or the ocean.

Recyclable Paper Towel Brands

If your family can’t stay completely away from paper towels, look for paper towel brands that have a reasonable level of recycled content. Paper towels are still the next best option, especially if you’re the type constantly wash cloth napkins even when they’re barely soiled, or if you have small children that generate a lot of mess and spills.

Also, try to avoid brands bleached with elemental Chlorine. In fact, if you really care about your kids’ health, go for TCF or Totally Chlorine Free products. These types of tissue paper are very brown in appearance, and will lack the cute printed imagery of popular paper towel brands, but are ultimately the smartest choice from a health-oriented consumer perspective.