I’m always on the lookout for ways to cut waste around the house, so when I was at my favorite spa, this adorable packet of hankies for sale near the register caught my eye.
Yep, that’s right, hankies. Those things that your parent’s or grandparent’s generation used to blow their nose before the advent of disposable paper tissues in the 1920’s. It may seem strange now, but it used to be a given that this item would get washed and reused, the same as rags before paper towels were invented.
Article continues below...
Well, the HankyBook may just bring hankies back into fashion. It’s a rather hip-looking booklet made of snuggly-soft, organic cotton, and when you need to sneeze or blow your nose, you just open it to a fresh page. Toss it in the laundry along with your clothes, and it’s ready to reuse, minus the cold germs. Each packet contains three booklets in pretty, colorful designs, and the fabric is softer against your skin than paper.
There are some good reasons to choose reusable fabric over paper, as the HankyBook folks point out on their website. Hankies are cheaper in the long run than disposable tissues, they’re made in the United States following fair labor practice guidelines, and they don’t leave you with “rednose” syndrome from blowing your nose too often. Perhaps most importantly, reusable hankies save trees. According to Hanky Book,
“If every household in the United States replaced just one box of virgin fiber facial tissues (175 sheets) with 100% recycled ones (or a reusable alternative like HankyBooks), we could save 163,000 trees. (Source : NDRC.org)”
You can find HankyBook at select stores, or online at their website. They might be just the ticket to help you get through this year’s cold and flu season.
01.10.13 @ 5:06 pm
I find hankies to be disgusting .It is a good way to spread germs .like what if you have someone in your family who wants to use it over And over again before putting it in the wash ? Let’s say for instance grandpa.Or you have kids that forget to throw them in the wash right away or they may leave them some where to breed germs before you find it.plus you have to retrain everybody to put them in the wash right away and do we really have time for that? I guess they’re ok for some people to use but I wouldn’t suggest it to be a family friendly thing .
01.22.13 @ 3:33 pm
This is one of those ideas that look great on paper (pardon the pun). Perhaps to use a hankie to cover a cough or a sneeze wouldn’t be too bad but I would strongly advise against blowing ones nose in one. Needless to say a book full.