Single use paper towels are incredibly wasteful and, unfortunately, incredibly American. But the good news is there are plenty of alternatives. I’ve been using Marley’s Monsters UNpaper Towels for about a month and I’m ready to sing my praises from a mountaintop.

The towels are 12″ by 10″ sheets of 100% cotton flannel and my goodness do they get the job done. They work for wiping the counter, cleaning up muddy paw prints, soaking up spills and messes, covering food in the microwave, wrapping food in the fridge — almost anything you would do with a paper towel.

Re-rolling the towels onto the wood holder is a breeze. Just take 5 minutes to neatly stack then towels and roll the dowel over them like a rolling pin. The UNpaper Towels cling to each other as they roll onto the holder, creating the same effect as a roll of paper towels.

This product is absolutely an environmental upgrade from single use paper towels, even ones made from recycled materials.

Packaging – Marley’s Monsters ships plastic free which is a huge upgrade from the plastic wrapping around paper towels.

Shipping – UNpaper Towel’s are in some home goods stores, but mostly ship direct to consumer. Paper towels, on the other hand, sell primarily in-store. Just imagine the amount of space paper towels take up on trucks as they ship all over the world.

End life – People use paper towels once — maybe twice — before throwing them away. Fortunately, they can go in compost. Unfortunately, that rarely happens, and they often end up in landfills where they release methane. UNpaper Towels are reusable for years and can go in compost (although they will take longer to break down).

Supporting small business – Mega-corporations like Procter & Gamble and Georgia-Pacific (a Koch Industries subsidiary) own big paper towels brands like Scott’s, Brawny, and Bounty. These corporations have shown more willingness to fight environmental regulations than follow them, let alone do the right thing on their own. Marley’s Monsters is a small family business in Eugene, Oregon with genuine concern for the environment, and a BRING certificate to prove it.