Day 43: I Don't Mean to be Snotty....

...but sometimes it just happens!

A week ago I cought a pretty bad cold and went right through two boxes of recycled facial tissues. One day, when I thought I had finally conquered my cold, I ventured out of the house with only one extra tissue in my pocket. Big mistake - it didn't last long and I was forced to make an emergency purchase on campus, and the only thing I could find was a large package of smaller individually-wrapped pocket sized packages. As I was sitting desperately dabbing at my nose in Math 101 my friend pointed out to me that they weren't very sustainable... and of course I was aware of that... but I was desperate!

But this got me thinking that there had to be a better way, so, as I usually do, I sat down and did some reading on the subject.

Grist.com did a review of recycled facial tissues two years ago, and the author unearthed some surprising results. Paper pulp and manufacturing is one of the most polluting industries in North America and the third largest contributer to CO2 emissions. American paper consumption razes 12 430 square miles of forest each year.

After reading the review of a variety of  different brands of recycled facial tissues, from Kleenex to Seventh Generation, it seems that none of them measure up to the good old fashioned handkerchief for softness and durability. Sure, they need to be tossed into the laundry ever so often...but well, you do laundry anyways -and this way you aren't creating a mountain of waste every time you catch a cold!

So, next time I am feeling under the weather, I am swearing off facial tissues and going for the trusted and true, old fashioned method that worked so well for my parents, grandparents and great-grandparents, etc.. the Grist-recommended handkerchief!

But otherwise, if you absolutely refuse to go this route, look at the recycled content of facial tissues and make sure as much of it is possible is recycled (100% is best - and make sure it is the box and the tissues -not just one or the other). For more information and for the tissue reviews, click on the link above.