The Family Cloth Vs. Toilet Paper: How Green Are You Willing to Go?
Although family cloth discussions have are a hot topic on green and eco-friendly chats lately, most people are not familiar with the family cloth or its use. Even among very green households the family cloth creates controversy.
The purpose of the family cloth is to reduce the waste created by toilet paper. The environmentally unfriendly aspects of toilet paper happen before it arrives at your home. Trees are destroyed for the necessary pulp and large amounts of chemicals are used to turn the wood pulp into the soft, fluffy, white tissues we like to use. In addition, those darn packages of t.p. are big and a lot of fuel is burned getting them to their destination. These concerns are causing people to ditch their toilet paper and use a family cloth instead.
Eco-friendly families usually start out trying different cloths. Old t-shirts are the most popular source for family cloth pieces. Using them for a family cloth prevents them from becoming yet another piece of landfill. Cotton t-shirt material is soft and very absorbent. They also receive high ratings from female users because they don't leave any of that annoying tissue dust after usage.
For those unfamiliar with the family cloth, the name is somewhat misleading. No one seems to be certain where the term originated but is not an accurate title. Family members do not share a single cloth for their bathroom wiping needs. Each family has their own method, but most often a stack of clean cloth strips are left near the toilet in the bathroom. After use the family cloth is placed in a bucket. Every few days the contents are washed.
Sanitary issues are a top concern for those who don't use the family cloth. They worry about the used cloths sitting around and about whether they get really clean. This should not be a concern. Cloth diapers are similarly stored and washed without problem. When children wet the bedding or their clothing the items are washed and reused, not discarded. The family cloth is no different.
While some green households use the family cloth to entirely replace their toilet tissue needs, most do not. Based on discussion board comments, the family cloth is most often used only after urination. Very few families use it after #2. The biggest opposition to the family cloth seems to come from men who use it less often anyway. Even households that rely entirely upon the family cloth admit to stocking regular toilet paper for their guests.
The family cloth is completely environmentally friendly. It is also a great way to save money. Some families rely on the family cloth to help cut their paper product expenses. Others opt to use the family cloth in an effort to reduce stress on their septic tank system.
In the general population the idea of the family cloth is met with a look of astonishment and horror. Within the environmentally concerned green community the family cloth is an obvious choice. How green are you willing to go?
Published by D. S. Tobin
- How to Make Toilet Paper Roll Tube CraftsThe four toilet paper roll tube crafts for kids below can help keep the kids busy while they are not in school. Be sure to check the list of other toilet paper tube crafts on the right for more things for kids to make.
- Toilet Paper, the Good the Bad, the UglyToilet paper is not just a convenience, there are differences, nuances, the good, the bad, the septic stuffer
Iowa Toilet Paper Stolen by ButtsWhen paying a visit to a public restroom, many patrons realize too-little, too-late that toilet paper is lacking. However, for a Marshalltown, Iowa, woman named Butts, stealing...- Toddler Craft: Log Cabin Made from Toilet Paper RollsHere is a fun craft that you and your toddler can do to use up a bunch of toilet paper rolls.
- Eco-Friendly Plants, Grasses for Landscaping in New EnglandWe are trying real hard to get the Eco-Friendly thing right, so this year we have decided to let our landscaping company go and do it all ourselves! Here are some of the things that we have implemented into our green...
- Eco-Friendly Laundry Products by Sweet Grass Farms
- A Review of Bluehouse Eco-Friendly Fine Furniture
- Eco-Friendly Style Items
- Eco-Friendly Bags of All Types
- Bury Me Green: Eco-Friendly Funeral Options
- Relaxx Valet Eco-Friendly Dry Cleaning Solution
- Craft Recipe: Toilet Paper Mache
55 Comments
Post a CommentJust use (and discard!) Wet Wipes. Much less disgusting than reusing a poo-cloth, and more able to clean up poo than dry toilet paper.
Okay, Americans, this is getting ridiculous. When I (yes, I'm American) spent a semester in India, I did like the rural natives and actually washed myself with water after relieving myself. Wiping with a dry cloth or toilet paper, aka, smearing, is not the most hygienic solution to the problem of cleaning one's derierre. The French have their bidets, the Indians have water buckets. You actually wash away the undesireable whatever instead of smearing it around until you eventually seem clean. And, since this is a green concept, it probably takes less water to wash oneself after using the toilet than it does to wash the family cloths.
See the P wipes made in Canada http://www.ecomake.ca/3/view.aspx
I use cloth toilet paper when I urinate only, not when I have a bowel movement... I do not have kids and I am not currently into cloth diapering (although I do use cloth menstrual pads)- so I don't really feel comfortable washing the really soiled cloth yet.
I bought pre-cut and sewn cloths from a stay-at-home-mom on Etsy.com (there are a lot of sellers out there) and I use a double wonder bag (wet bag with two pockets for keeping used cloths separate from clean) from HappyTushies.com. And if any ladies are interested, I recommend Lunapads.com for washable menstrual pads, but again, there a lot of sellers out there.
I am all for being "green" and ecological but I will keep my toilet paper and forgo some other wasteful habits. This just seems TOO extreme for me.
gross. No thanks. I prefer to throw away something my family is wiping their backsides with.
I've been mulling this idea over for a while. When I was a kid my father kept a special wash rag only for him. When older I discovered that it was his version of the family cloth that he used and rinsed each and every time he had a bm. Don't know if I will try it, but it is definitely interesting!
where i come from we call it a "poo-rag"
The family cloth would work just find along with a Bathroom Bidet Sprayer. Yes, we use way too much toilet paper, one major factor could be the size of the average butt keeps growing but let's not go there. Instead let's save money and the Earth and be clean at the same time! Get serious and add Bathroom Bidet Sprayers to all your bathrooms. I think Dr. Oz on Oprah said it best: "if you had pee or poop on your hand, you wouldn't wipe it off with paper, would you? You'd wash it off" Available at http://www.bathroomsprayers.com with these you won't even need toilet paper any more, just a towel to dry off! Don't worry, you can still leave some out for guests and can even make it the soft stuff without felling guilty. It's cheap and can be installed without a plumber; and runs off the same water line to your toilet. You'll probably pay for it in a few months of toilet paper savings. And after using one of these you won't know how you lasted all those years with wadded up handfuls of toilet
A nice start but get serious (and cleaner) and get a Bathroom Bidet Sprayer from www.bathroomsprayers.com and you won't even need toilet paper, just a towel to dry off! It's cheap and can be installed without a plumber. You'll probably pay for it in 3 months of toilet paper savings. And after using one of these you won't know how you lasted all those years with wadded up handfuls of toilet paper, nasty. Now we're talking green and helping the environment without any pain.