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Paper Towel Smack Down: Which leading brand gives the best bang for the buck?
Filed under: Saving Money, Shopping
If you're like me, you like to eat Nutella at your desk, out of the jar and offer your spoon to any busybody co-worker who walks by, looking disgusted. On one such blissful occasion, I smeared a dollop of Nutella on my desk, to see if the desk wanted some. OK, actually, I was running a consumer experiment testing leading brands of paper towels, investigating which one gives you the easiest clean-up and return on investment. Let's meet our three challengers:
Kleenex's Viva Big Roll White Paper Towel -- single roll: $3.19: Weighing in at 70 sheets a roll, Viva has a duvet softness you can sleep in. For all you Animal House junkies, sheets of Viva even seem durable enough to make a toga -- (but don't trust me on that one.) Except they come printed in big obnoxious flowers, at least the roll I picked up.
Seventh Generation White Paper Towels -- 3 roll pack: $5.69 (roughly $1.90/roll): Weighing-in at 112 sheets a roll, Seventh Generation is made of 100% recycled paper. This certainly makes you feel better about using paper towels. Seventh Generation products have saved half a million trees and almost 1 million gallons of petroleum, according to the company Web site. The brand gets its name from the Great Law of the Iroquois: "In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations." I like that.
Kirkland Signature Premium Big Roll Towel - 1 roll: $1.42: Weighing in at 90 sheets a roll, this Costco staple is the obvious money saver. The product packaging promises all kinds of strength and absorbency, but can it deliver at that price?
Verdict: Ding, ding, ding, ding! Both Kleenex Viva and Seventh Generation only took one sheet to wipe up a four-inch wide dollop of Nutella -- enough to frost a larger than average cupcake. The Viva provided a smooth clean up, as though I were using a babywipe. Seventh Generation isn't nearly as smooth, but it still got the job done, with earth-saving panache. With that said, I would much rather use something that's better for the environment, and $1.29 cheaper.
How did Kirkland do? Well, it took two sheets and cleaned up messy. The more I wiped away the Nutella the more it got all over the place, including my hand.
Sorry, Kirkland. You may claim to be the money-saver, but we have to use more of you, which means we have to buy more to make it work -- just like those old-school Total cereal commercials.
Clear Winner: Seventh Generation
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 7)
11-04-2009 @ 2:21PM
Jay said...
What are the correct form numbers for requesting a change to your Social Security Benefits?
Reply
11-06-2009 @ 6:48PM
lorry said...
go to www.socialsecurity.gov.... everything answed there.
11-06-2009 @ 7:19PM
Clint said...
Kirkland and Brawny are the exact same paper towels... I have worked at a G.P paper mill and seen them both come off the same line......Only different packaging. Now that I've blown my confidential agreement, I will shut up and wait for the police..
11-13-2009 @ 2:51PM
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11-16-2009 @ 9:10AM
Margherita said...
Jay, sorry to say there is no way to change your SS #, at least that is what I was told by SS. I only know this as my son when he was about 17, was in the city and someone either ripped off his wallet, or his missed his pocket, kids.... , with his SS card and license. Well I call SS and explained this considering all that was happening in the world I thought they would change it. I was afraid and still am that someone is used his license and SS card for who knows what. They told me " sorry we can't give you another number. I guess the only ones that would , are criminals in witness protection........ if you find out that there is a way,,,,,,, boy would I like to know.
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11-05-2009 @ 8:29AM
Bob said...
The reasoning of "saving a tree" is ill-informed.
Trees are a crop, much like corn. If you noticed the labeling for the 7th Generation recycled product said 80% post consumer. It takes more energy to clean up the recycled fibers then it does to make virgin product. So the net result is a "feel good" marketing plan.
Reply
11-06-2009 @ 7:16AM
liijong said...
See barbara novak comment in the blog.
11-06-2009 @ 5:23PM
Kumar said...
A lot of recycling is pointless and a waste of money.
11-11-2009 @ 8:22AM
galbraith said...
Sorry Bob. If you had ever actually planted a tree you would know they are not at all like corn. Corn is done in 3 months. Trees take 30 years or more before the logger comes. Trees provide much more than lumber and paper. They are a source of oxygen, they absorb carbon, and if you hunt, woods are pretty nice. I would rather save the trees for houses and furniture. You need to use recycled paper to wipe your rear end.
I have 105 acres of woods and am a certified tree farmer. You obviously are someone who believes Rush's lies.
11-06-2009 @ 1:25AM
Ron said...
I use the stuff from Dollar General, 3 rolls for a little over a buck. I also for for a paper company that makes 100% recycled paperboard; think cereal boxes. The funny thing is that our paper towels from the bathrooms go right to the compactor then to the dump.
Reply
11-06-2009 @ 7:07AM
Annie said...
What about Bounty?
Can you use recycled paper towels on food?
Like in the microwave?
Reply
11-06-2009 @ 7:17AM
liijong said...
Yes, you can!!! The fibers are first 'processed', so bacteria are killed, and anyway the heat in the microwave would kill them, anyway.
11-06-2009 @ 2:07PM
Bruno and Lynn Codispoti said...
Recycled paper may cause arcing (sparking) when used in a microwave and damage the klystron ( the heart) of a microwave oven. We recently purchased a Samsung microwave oven and the manufacturer does not recommend recycled paper.
11-06-2009 @ 3:54PM
barbara novak said...
Why not test brands that people actually use, like Bounty, etc.?
To Bob, trees are NOT a crop. Generally, we do not plant them, and when we do they take YEARS to grow; unlike corn which regrows and matures within one season.
The real reason that we recycle is so that we will not be BURIED in our own 'Clean Up'.
Finally, since products are priced to recoup the manufacture and raw material costs, AND also realize a profit for the company, why is the recycled product cheaper than the virgin one? If we go on Bob's premise, then it should be more expensive, exactly the opposite of reality.
Reply
11-06-2009 @ 10:48AM
cody said...
ur stupid
11-06-2009 @ 10:53AM
Keegan said...
U R stupid
11-06-2009 @ 3:54PM
estela semic said...
i agree with Barbara why not test Bounty...for me of all the paper towels..bounty is the best..very neat and economical....
11-06-2009 @ 5:07PM
TheJeff said...
Actually, Trees ARE a crop. We DO plant them, some types of trees are faster growing than others.
The reason the recycled stuff is cheaper is because of the government subsidies. It’s the same reason E-85 is cheaper than Gasoline, even though it costs more to produce, and takes more energy to produce than it provides, it is subsidized by taxpayers, so it is cheaper at the pump even though it actually costs more!
11-07-2009 @ 3:51AM
Mark A. DeGeorge said...
Babs! Babs! Babs!...Why do u make a tree out to be some kind of living creature?? Just because it takes longer to grow it back, doesn't mean that it's not a crop..... IT IS!!!.....and because it is, they treat it like a crop. After taking it...... they re-plant it... to a degree that there is more hardwood trees in America, than there was 200 years ago... I can't speak for the rain forest, but here, in America, it is done responsibly...And as far as that recycling B.S....It takes more energy to recycle plastic bottles than it does to create them from scrap...and, it emits far more pollution, and CO2.