Packs of Organic Cotton Reusable Tissues
This pack of organic cotton reusable tissues makes a nice little zero waste gift to yourself or others. Ideal for people with runny noses or when you get the sniffles, they are luxuriously soft on your nose, and can be safely laundered, without releasing microplastics into the sea.
Organic cotton is not just kinder to the earth and water, but also to farmers, who can farm cotton in hot temperatures, without having to wear facial masks or protective clothing (and massively reduces both their risk of cancer – and debt due to buying expensive pesticides from abroad).
And as organic cotton has not been bleached or treated with chemicals, the fibres are stronger. Which means this little pack of tissues should last you much longer, than conventional ones.
LittleLeaf Organic makes nice organic cotton hankies (also sold in a set of 9). Made with solar power, and sold in recycled cardboard boxes. These hankies are sold in a variety of cute designs including bicycles, turtles and gardening. You can also buy sets of three hankies in a box (including a festive Christmas edition with trees).
The family packs contain 9 hankies and make a great affordable zero waste gift. Each one has a discreet LittleLeaf organic logo in the corner.
You can also use them to wipe your face in hot weather or mop up little spills, then just throw them in the wash (where due to natural materials, they won’t release microplastics in the machine). They’re even made in a solar-powered factory!
HankyBook (a ‘book’ of organic cotton hankies)
HankyBook has reinvented the handkerchief! This compact ‘book’ of soft organic cotton ‘pages’ with a protective outer cover was invented by an engineering student. Just ‘turn the page’ for a fresh hanky! Made in San Diego (USA), you then just ‘pull the pages apart’ to wash in the machine.
Also good to stop fogging up your glasses or deal with running make-up, the protective cover keeps your hands, pockets and bag clean, and helps to prevent infection. Although it’s made abroad, there’s nothing like it (yet) in England, and one purchase should last years.
LastTissue (an organic cotton tissue dispenser)
LastTissue (USA) is an invention designed to replace 3000 single-use paper tissues. The silicone case contains 6 organic cotton handkerchiefs that are easy to retrieve and stash. Then wash and use again.
To use, just pull a tissue from the dispenser, which features a hygienic way to separate clean and used tissues. After blowing your nose, just place it in the top.
Designed to break even on carbon emissions after 72 uses, the thick tight-woven cotton absorbs well so it doesn’t get damp, and the material gets softer with use. Launder in a mesh bag, to stop them getting cost in the machine. You can clean the case in the dishwasher or with hand sanitiser.
Why choose eco-friendly facial tissues?
Each year, millions of tree are chopped down daily (mostly in Boreal forests that are home to moose, elk, wolves and grizzly bears), just to make facial tissues that are then wrapped in plastic. Just imagine the effect if everyone switched to recycled paper, bamboo or washable cotton tissues instead?
Although you can now buy disposable tissues made from recycled paper (good for hospitals and those that need them), for everyday it may be best to invest a pack of hankies!
In the UK alone, over 5 million tonnes of used disposable facial tissues end up on landfills. And due to the contents in them (yuk!), they can’t be recycled.
Also remember that most paper tissues on sale in stores are sold in plastic packaging. Although in theory this can be recycled these days, in many cases it isn’t (and littered packs on streets result in plastic going down storm drains and into the sea).
How to safely blow your nose
Here is advice from those who know (doctors etc)!
Apparently most of us don’t blow our hooters properly, and this can lead to not just making us feel more uncomfortable with a cold, but can make ears pop, rupture blood vessels and even force air into the middle ear (not good).
So next time you come down with the sniffles:
- Place one finger against your nostril, and apply pressure.
- Take a breath, then gently blow the other nostril into a tissue.
- Do the same on the other side.
- Wash your hands, to avoid passing germs onto others.
