apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I don't understand how cloth placemats and napkins aren't practical for kids. Yes these are lovely but hasn't AT been preaching the "green" angle for a while now?
The Reduce/Reuse/Recycle concept isn't a matter of convenience. It's about making the effort on a daily basis to make wiser choices. Buy less. Throw away less. These items may be better than constantly buying paper placemats but the point is that you're still buying *more*.

That point confuses me as well, wouldn't they be more practical since you can just throw them into the washer as needed? Growing up we always used cloth placemats and napkins.

You're absolutely right about cloth being green in a sense, but if you have messy kids you might be washing placemats and napkins several times a week. If you live in a city you may not own a washing machine so would need to buy several sets to tide you over until you can get to the laundromat. So depending on your lifestyle, wiping down plastic or synthetic paper may be a greener choice than doing laundry. That said, I'm still a big fan of cloth!

Carrie

"Synthetic paper" is polypropylene film with a clay coating; that is, it's a form of plastic. So it's inherently rougher on the environment than normal paper (made from trees farmed for this purpose) or natural-fiber cloth.

Note that the settings are touted as "recyclable" -- they are not biodegradable (don't put them in the trash!), and presumably they'd have to be recycled in a locale that takes a wide variety of plastics (which many, if not most, don't). Since the maker doesn't say what recycling number applies, I have to wonder whether "recyclable" is theoretically true but not practical in the typical city.

I'm trying to see how using and tossing these could be more environmentally sound than owning a largish supply of cotton mats and napkins that you wash as needed -- but it's just stretching my credulity a little too far.

We used plastic placemats growing up and my mother still has and uses them - so the idea is that you wouldn't toss them - you'd use them daily and just wipe them down with a sponge. These aren't being touted as the greenest choice in the world, but it's worth balancing them against the energy and water used to wash cloth.