Using a Paper Towel with a Clear Consience

The Wall Street Journal recently wrote an article about people buying generic items at the grocery store, especially generic paper products. According to the article, ". . . about 40% of primary household shoppers said they started buying store-brand paper products because 'they are cheaper than national brands,' according to a September report by market-research company Mintel International, which interviewed 3,000 consumers."
I love generic paper products! Really, a lot of green advocates espouse a household entirely free of paper products, where family members use cloth napkins at every meal and rags to wipe up every spill. This is a place where my fear of germs and environmental awareness intersect to spawn guilt. I try to use these old towels that I wrote "PETS" on with a Sharpie marker to clean up the spills and surprises the dog, cat and iguana occasionally leave on the concrete floor of the laundry room. But sometimes I spot a giant germy mess, and I rush to grab the paper towels without considering the environmental consequences. Plus, I watched some lame TV show where the host described how germs on towels and underwear don't really get killed in the washing machine. They just float around and get redeposited on other items in the laundry. Now I have the creepy feeling the scrunchies I washed last week are covered with pet towel germs. Yikes! In this case, I'll let go of he whole green thing in favor of generic paper products. There are a few things it feels good to just throw away.