Public Goods Tree Free Paper Towels Review 2020 | Sugarcane and Bamboo Paper Towels
The Top Line: We think Public Goods Tree Free paper towels made from sugarcane and bamboo are a NOT a buy.
Some other call-outs:
They feel flimsy, and they fall apart - like Seventh Gen - except unlike 7G, they do not shred
Perforation does not allow for easy tear off and this is wrapped in thin plastic, like typical brands (even Seventh Gen…).
Public Goods paper towels are more expensive per roll, but we think they have more sheets per roll than the competition.
Note: we did a Public Goods Roundup Review here!
The Breakdown:
Cost & Products: $6.25 for 2 rolls
How ‘Clean’ Is This? Middle of the road: comes from bamboo and sugarcane grass rather than wood, but it’s still bleached (chlorine-free bleaching), which is how almost all wood paper is bleached.
Packaging: Kind of annoying that it’s wrapped in plastic, just like every other paper towel roll.
Purchasing & Shipping: The website is cleanly designed and ordering is a straightforward. The free shipping threshold seems a little on the high side at a minimum of $45. We get it though. Limiting shipments. Lower carbon emissions.
Coupons: $10 off your first order with ‘BLOG10’
What’s Your Impact? When you cut down trees, it take way longer for them to grow back - contributing to deforestation. Grass is a more sustainable option to normal paper towels as the bamboo and sugar cane are faster to grow — and therefore quicker to be replaced.
The Experience
Context: We hate crappy paper towels, so we’ve alternated between Seventh Gen but end up going back to non-recycled versions since we end up using more pieces of recycled paper to compensate anyway.
The Public Goods sheet size is a bit big: roughly the size of 2 ‘select-a-size’ paper towels
The perforation is a bit annoying - it doesn’t cut all the way through
When using, it compares to the Seventh Generation brand as it does get holes in it…
But, ironically, there is zero shredding because bamboo fibers tend to be really long and strong
The Cost
This… is going to get tricky. Per total sheets, uses per sheet? We’ll try to update when we know how many days a roll will last, on average. Public Goods paper towels rolls are bigger than typical bamboo rolls.
In the meantime, we’re going to present per roll.
P.S. It’s really hard to find disposable tree-free or bamboo paper towels.
Seventh Generation, Recycled Paper Towel, $2.00-$2.45
Caboo Bamboo& Sugarcane Paper Towels, $2.20
Naturezway Bamboo Paper Towels, $1.72
Marcal Recycled Towel Rolls, $3.25
Money Report: So, Public goods are one of the most expensive per roll. Compared to recycled paper towels, we think Public Goods Bamboo paper towels are really comparable in quality but they are pricier.
For comparison to bamboo paper towels, we think that other bamboo rolls are 25-50% smaller and you will end up replacing Public Goods rolls less often.
The Good:
✔ Tree Free
✔ Sustainable Bamboo and Sugarcane
✔ Large roll size
✔ Shred-free
The Bad:
✗ Wrapped in plastic!!
✗ Perforation is a pretty annoying
✗ Poke through
Our Recommendation:
For a more sustainable paper towel, we think Public Goods paper towels are a not really a buy. Recycled paper towels are cheaper, and even though they shred more easily, we think we would prefer that, especially the unbleached Seventh Generation rolls. We think the Public Goods roll is bigger than other disposable bamboo paper towels, so you get your money’s worth per roll if bamboo and non-shredding is important to you. We will petition PG to ditch the plastic wrap, but overall, we think the higher price point is not worth the small upgrade to non-shredding.
We're on a mission to reduce our personal carbon footprint with small, hopefully easy, changes in our home to fight against climate change. This means we're looking for products that may be all natural, ideally zero waste, reusable or compostable -- while still being affordable!