GET GREEN: Change the World...One Roll at a Time

(Excerpts taken from the magazine Body and Soul)

Buy Recycled TP
Believe it or not, recycled toilet paper can change the world. “If every household in the US bought just one, four-pack of 260-sheet recycled bath tissue, it would eliminate 60,600 pounds of chlorine pollution, preserve 356 million gallons of fresh water, and save 988,000 trees,” says Jeffery Hollender, whose company, Seventh Generation, offers a range of environmentally conscious consumer goods. Using recycled paper products saves manufacturers a trip into the forest and doesn’t require the energy needed to extract pulp from trees. Plus, a four-pack of the recycled kind cost about the same as conventional. You can effect change, Hollender insists, “one roll of toilet paper at a time.”

Pass on the Paper Towels
No matter how you look at it, paper towels create waste--even if you stick to recycled brands. Danny Seo, green-living guru and author of the Simply Green series notes, “You use them once and throw them away. Most end up in landfills.” In his house, you’ll find only reusable micro-fiber towels, which grip dirt and dust like a magnet and don’t let go, even when wet. When you're finished, toss the towels in the wash and reuse. He says, “Paper towels just push dirt and bacteria around. Next time you wipe your counter or clean a mirror with a reusable micro-fiber towel you can think of the trees you’re saving.”

~Eileen Koff, CPO