Some figures for your Consideration

From the latest 7th Generation newsletter:

• Average number of pounds of paper used annually by every American: 680
• Number of trees required by every American to meet their yearly demand for paper and wood products: 7
• Percent of the U.S. waste stream composed of paper (by weight): 35
• Gallons of petroleum saved by recycling one ton of paper: 380
• Number of trees saved by recycling one ton of household printing paper: 24
• Number of annual pounds of carbon dioxide absorbed by those 24 trees: 353

I choose to use cloth in my kitchen and toss them in the wash with my other laundry. It doesn't take any extra water or energy that I wouldn't normally be using. I have 4 kids... I do a lot of laundry, there's always room to toss in a cleaning cloth or cloth from my bathroom. I buy ONE roll of unbleached 7th Generation paper towels about every 2-3 months. That's it. I can't even imagine how much paper I've saved from our local landfill. Yes, it's biodegradable, but that's not the point. I believe we have a responsibility to conserve our resources and energy. Period.