Cloth napkins
Growing up, we always had cloth napkins at the dinner table. My dad was not a fan of paper napkins or paper towels. It wasn’t because he was a tree hugging environmentalist who didn’t approve of cutting down old growth forests, it was because he was frugal to a fault! Why waste money at the store when you could simply toss cloth napkins in the wash to use again and again?
Somehow as time rolls by, I seem to have adapted many of my dad’s habits, but not always for the same reasons. I have evolved into a tree hugging environmentalist, the way I see it, I am simply trying to do the right thing so that my kids have a chance to grow up in a world that will still have some trees and clean air left.
Recently, I discovered another reason to use cloth napkins instead of paper. It has to do with two brothers named Koch (pronounced “Coke” !). They have worked very hard to create doubt and confusion around climate change by investing millions for paid professional climate deniers. Recently at dinner, I’ve been sharing the story of the Koch brothers dastardly doings to my 13 year old.
While most of Koch Industries revolves around energy and gas—including pipelines in Texas and Oklahoma, and refineries in Mississippi—it also owns the Georgia-Pacific paper company, which makes many paper products, like the following:
Angel Soft toilet paper
Brawny paper towels
Dixie plates, bowls, napkins and cups
Mardi Gras napkins and towels
Quilted Northern toilet paper
Soft ‘n Gentle toilet paper
Sparkle napkins
Vanity Fair napkins
Zee napkins
Cloth napkins are classier and prettier. They will save you money in the long run. Using them might not change the world all that much but it will likely give you some satisfaction knowing you are not supporting billionaires that are doing everything they can to maintain the pollution based status quo. Make sure your kids know about these bad guys who deliberately bankroll attacks on climate change science and policy.
Learn more about the growing boycott of Koch industries by clicking here. Boycott Koch brothers.
