It’s well-known that Hong Kong is not as good as they could be at being sustainable. If the world lived like Hong Kong, we would need nearly four Earths to sustain us all!
In 2019, 5.67 million tonnes of waste was generated, of which 29% was recycled and the rest went to landfills. Households can do more to reduce the amount of waste they produce by simply looking at their cleaning products. Dish cloths may seem an innocuous culprit, but they add to the textile waste filling up the city’s landfills. Let’s play our part and start small. Here are our top 3 eco-friendly dish cloths and where to get them.
ORGANIC WAFFLE KITCHEN TOWEL
These kitchen towels have a super unique composition- they are waffle-weaved, which means that the surface area of the towel can expand to soak up more liquid (it also helps it dry faster). Yarn-dyed, they have a soft colour that will endure through hard work and frequent washing. These towels are made with Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS)- certified 100% organic cotton.
Further, the factory they’re made in in India recycles 98% of its waste-water, so the product is sustainable at its source!
We found this set of 6 at Coyuchi.com for USD$48 (HKD$370).
COTTON CLEANING CLOTH
Made of cotton, this cloth is soft, yet durable. Cotton as a material is very sustainable and is able to biodegrade in environments with oxygen (like a compost heap) or without, albeit more slowly (like landfills). While the speed of its biodegradability depends on certain environmental conditions, like the amount of oxygen and water present, temperature, etc., cotton is generally able to biodegrade in about five months.
Find it on slowood.hk. They’re slightly pricier than non-sustainable cloths (around HDK80 for one) but they will last longer!
CELLULOSE DISH CLOTH
This one that we found is made with 100% compostable German cellulose wood pulp. In general, cellulose fibres like modal, viscose and lyocell are extracted from plant-based materials and are recyclable, biodegradable and dye well, resulting in less chemical pollution. This cloth is made with 30% cotton and 70% cellulose wood pulp.
As for the cloth itself, it is super absorbent, with one able to replace up to 15 rolls of paper. It’s also machine washable and dries quickly without a smell, so it is perfect for humid Hong Kong weather.
We found this on hktvmall.com for HKD$52 for a pack of 5.
Our cleaning products are a small part of our lives, but that’s what makes them so easy to change! Being less wasteful starts in our own lives and if we can encourage others to follow our lead, we could save a lot of waste from being produced!
