Sponges & Swedish Dishcloths
My sister recently sent me a link to greener living (mightynest.com), and I ended up on a page discussing "a better sponge". This was basically their way of selling their version of the swedish dishcloth. A little more internet searching, and basically all the swedish dishcloth-making companies say the same thing. Dislike reading? Here's a video.
Well, this got me thinking...for years, I have used Scotch-Brite's greener clean non-scratch scrub sponge (say that 5 times fast). It's easy to find and more environmentally-friendly than most of what you'll find on the shelf: the sponge itself is made from plant-based material, and the "scrubber" is made from 50% agave plant. A few questions then came to mind: Is it actually compostable? If only 50% of the scrubber is made from plants, what is the other 50%?
Amazon Q&A to the rescue.
I have also used Trader Joe's pop-up sponges - made of 100% vegetable cellulose and packaged in a way that uses less plastic, which is awesome. However, if you need something with good scrubbing action, keep looking.
Update
Well, I drank the kool-aid and purchased two compostable Swedish dischloths off Amazon. SO meuch better than a normal sponge. They dry out completely between uses, so there's no lingering smell. I still need something with a little more scrubbing action for our pots and pans, but the dishcloths are great for everything else, including counters. I also have a dedicated dischloth for the floors.I found a two-pack of the Twist loofah sponges at TJ Maxx for $2.99. They are fully biodegradable and provide the scrubbing action I need when the dischloths aren't enough.