An argument for making cloth napkins. (How to included.)

By DIY Maven

According to Seventh Generation’s website "If every household in the U.S. replaced just one 250 count package of virgin fiber napkins with 100% recycled ones, we could save:

*1 million trees
*2.7 million cubic feet of landfill space equal to over 4,000 full garbage trucks
*380 million gallons of water, a year’s supply for 2,900 families of four
*and avoid 64,000 pounds of pollution!"

Of course Seventh Generation wants you to buy their 100% recycled napkins, and that’s great for those of use who don’t sew. BUT for those of us that DO sew, I can’t think of a better–and easier–project than making a dozen or so CLOTH napkins.

For a great, and entertaining, tutorial on how to sew cloth napkins, check out HeresyOfTruth’s tutorial over on Instructables. And as this is rummage sale season, it would be a great time to keep an eye out for cheap table cloths–even stained ones, as you can use the remaining, unblemished fabric to make your new napkins.

Picture of "Festival Napkins" courtesy of Elegant Linens of Park City.

Tagged:
Reduce Reuse recycle napkins cloth sewing

Did you like this article?

June 11, 2007

1 comment

Viewed 1135 times

DIY Maven's blog (1201 posts)

Featured Writer
Subscribe to this blog
Member since: 11/07/06
About: Self-proclaimed Maven of DIY, I'm up for anything from gonzo rehab to dressing a room. Although...

More by DIY Maven

Comments

» All comments

Caya123

June 11, 2007

#1, I don't buy the statistics. I know that statistics can be skewed to mean anything a person wants them to mean. #2, what about the cost of electricity, water, and wear & tear on the washer & dryer to wash those cloth napkins? What about the costs involved in MAKING the cloth napkins? Those numbers are meaningless. That said- I cut down on buying paper towels to almost nothing. I mainly only use them to clean up nasty messes that I know I will want to throw the whole deal away afterward! I cut up all the old clothes & t-shirts I had saved up into 10"x10" squares, cutting them with a zig-zag bladed rotary cutter. I put them in a cloth bag sort of thing, similar to those plastic-bag keepers one sees, that is hung up with my pots & pans. We use those for napkins (and most every other clean-up job,) we're not formal here. The only reason this system works though, is that we have a new LG washer AND dryer, that saves a ton of electricity and water. When I had the old washer & dryer, cloth napkins would not have been possible, because with our well I literally couldn't keep up with the laundry as it was. Sometimes I think that the eco-crowd is pretty judgemental in assuming that one solution works for everyone- and if you don't do THEIR solution, you're planet-destroying scum.