Are Swedish dishcloths more environment-friendly than paper towels? We investigate

Reaching for the single-use paper towel can feel like a crime in a climate crisis - but how eco-friendly are the alternatives?

It's an old adage: don't cry over spilled milk. But is it fair to want to cry over how many paper towels you have to use to clean up the mess? In an era of increasingly dire climate crisis, tossing out any single-use product feels wrong.

Of course, there are lots of alternatives to paper towels: reusable bamboo napkins, microfiber cleaning cloths, cotton towels packaged on familiar paper towel rolls, even good old fashioned rags. Increasingly common today is the Swedish dishcloth.