I’ve never been to Japan? Have you? It seems like a gorgeous country, and also a fascinating culture, since they seem to be on the cutting edge of technology, fashion and also eco-consciousness!
I recently learned that in public restrooms in Japan, paper towels are nowhere to be found, and they haven’t been for about 40 years! It has become a cultural norm there for folks to carry their own personal reusable hand towels. While America has certainly started to get more serious about going green (at least this American has), I have to admit that the thought of bringing my own hand towel with me never even occurred to me until I learned about PeopleTowels which is a fabulous company pioneering the “B.Y.O. Towel” eco-habit in the U.S.!
Why have I never considered this idea? It really isn’t that strange, if you think about it. Do you have paper towels in your bathroom to use after you wash your hands? Doubt it! You have a hand towel, don’t you? Good point, Tiffany, but what a pain it would be to carry around a bulky hand towel. I don’t have room in my purse for that!
Quite true, but People Towels has developed a perfect solution. They offer 9 x 9 towels that are extremely lightweight and roll up to a tiny size, so they can be tucked away in your diaper bag, purse, or even your pocket, if needed! I’ve been breaking in the towel at home, and I can tell you that it successfully dries one adult pair of hands, but then it needs some time to dry (10-15 minutes seems to do it for my towel and it is ready to go again). Check out their information on how they were inspired to make such an excellent product!
I’ve gone paper-free in my kitchen, I am mostly paper free in the diapering department (yay cloth diapers and cloth wipes!). Why not go paper free when I’m out and about (rare though those moments may be!)?
I also think that these are the PERFECT introductory hand towels for kids. They have really cute designs that kids will be drawn to, and once they are used to drying their hands on a People Towel at home, drying their hands on a People Towel somewhere else will be totally normal to them. It would only take one generation growing up NOT using paper towels to bring a People Towels revolution to the U.S. and help us ditch disposables in one more area of our lives.
I bet you never even think about your paper towel use in the office and out on the town, do you? I know I didn’t. But guess what: the average person uses between 2,400 – 3,000 paper towels at work alone in a given year. If you work at home, you are already using a reusable hand towel in your bathroom (most likely) so keep it going when you leave home!
Buy it!: People Towels are an awesome gift idea for the eco geek in your life, and they are also great gifts for yourself if you’d like to make this change for the greater good! You can buy sets of 1, 3 or 5 for yourself or your loved ones! One People Towel is $8 but if you buy 3 or more, they are $7 each. My favorite is this 3 day supply. So cute!
Win it!: Lucky you, and lucky planet Earth! One Stuff Parents Need readers is going to win a 3 day supply of People Towels in your choice of available prints! The contest will run until October 30th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.
Mandatory entry: Tell me about something you are doing now that is eco-friendly that you are pretty sure you weren’t doing 3 years ago. For me, I’ve switched over to clean cleaning products, and I was using harsh chemicals throughout my house 3 years ago!
Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Follow People Towels on Twitter
2. Blogger love: Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter
Be sure to check out my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my main page.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary item for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own. This post contains affiliate links.

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