What do the NanoTowels mean for the environment?
A. Millions of trees and virgin forests are cut down every year to satisfy our desire for disposable paper towels. Only 2% of this paper is recycled. Furthermore, paper products are bleached to make them whiter and brighter. Elemental chlorine bleach is responsible for the release of chlorinated compounds like dioxins and furans, which are powerful carcinogens and mutagens. These chemicals can adversely affect immune systems and reproductive systems and are extraordinarily toxic for aquatic life and wildlife. The Natural Resources Defense Council estimates that if every household in the United States used just one less roll of paper towels a year, we could save a staggering 544,000 trees annually. Other estimates are as high as 1.4 million. That is factoring in just one less roll of paper towels per household a year. Imagine the trees that would be saved if we reduced paper towel usage by just 10 or 20%. The impact would be enormous. Saving forests also helps to mitigate global climate
