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See why.The Best Reusable Paper Towels
Are there eco-friendly options that match the convenience of traditional paper towels?
Top Picks
What You Need To Know
We use paper towels because they’re convenient and hygienic. The best towels strike a balance between strength, absorbency, and softness. Although we love our traditional paper towel winner from Bounty, we wanted to find more eco-friendly alternatives. Our favorite bamboo option is the Full Circle Tough Sheet Reusable Plant Towels, similar to regular paper towels but sturdy enough to be washed and reused. They’re absorbent, excellent at scrubbing dried-on messes, efficient at cleaning various surfaces, and easy to rinse clean. These are great for people who prefer perforated sheets that they can easily tear off and don’t mind washing by hand. Marley’s Monsters UNpaper Towels are the best cotton cloth option. These flannel towels, which are similar to cotton dish towels, are great for drying dishes, absorbing spills, and cleaning multiple surfaces, and they come on a cardboard core that can fit on a paper towel holder. They’re perfect for people who are partial to the look and feel of cotton.
What You Need to Know
Paper towels are versatile. We reach for them when sopping up spills, blotting raw meat, wiping counters, drying our hands, and cleaning our bathrooms. While it might be second nature for us to tear off a sheet, overuse of them negatively impacts the environment.
Traditional paper towels are made from wood pulp derived from trees, usually from virgin or old-growth forests, according to a report published by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), an international environmental advocacy group. Wood pulp production contributes to deforestation and the destruction of ecosystems. Even though we can compost paper towels in some cases (see FAQ below), many people do not, which means most of them end up in landfills, contributing to methane emissions.
Recently, reusable products intended to replace or reduce the use of paper towels have emerged. Some, such as Swedish dishcloths, also attempt to replace sponges (we’re reviewing them too—stay tuned!). In this testing, we focused on bamboo and cotton products also marketed as “unpaper” or “tree-free” towels, meaning they are made without wood pulp.
There are a few differences between cotton towels and bamboo sheets besides the materials used. We found products made from cotton were typically thicker, mirroring the look and feel of regular dish towels. The bamboo sheets were thinner like traditional paper towels and often perforated like them, too, allowing you to tear off a sheet quickly. Bamboo fiber is supersoft, smooth, and silky—especially when turned into rayon, a material made from regenerated cellulose. Like regular paper towels, bamb...
Everything We Tested
Highly Recommended
- Absorbency: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Durability and Linting: 3 stars out of 3.
- Storage: 2.5 stars out of 3.
Our winning bamboo rayon option had perforated sheets that allowed us to tear off a sheet like traditional paper towels. They absorbed more than double their weight in water in our absorbency test and effortlessly dried a load of dishes without linting. They were aptly named “tough sheets,” and resisted tears even after being dragged along an abrasive plastic cutting board 100 times. The sheets wiped up messy counters in no time, shined wooden tables with ease, and cleaned glass windows without streaks. Even after multiple uses, they remained strong. We were worried about staining after we used them to wipe up bright red hot sauce, but after a quick rinse in the sink they were almost as good as new. They’re great for people who want a reusable option but want the ease of cleaning with a product similar to a traditional paper towel. One flaw Although the company claims that a roll of these sheets can fit on any paper towel holder, they weren’t universal—a tester struggled to fit them on hers.
- Absorbency: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 3 stars out of 3.
- Durability and Linting: 2 stars out of 3.
- Storage: 3 stars out of 3.
This colorful collection of reusable cotton flannel towels comes on a roll that you can add to your paper towel holder. Although we had to wash them before our first use, we could easily clean them in a washing machine. They were effective at absorbing spills, dried dishes thoroughly, and left our glasses sparkling. We also loved how soft they were in our hands and while shining wood surfaces. Testers liked that they could use them as napkins as well and appreciated that their edges were sewn down to prevent fraying. A couple of small quibbles Their fleece texture caused them to pill slightly, which made them look worn, and they linted a bit. These are great for people who want to store their towels on a paper towel holder.
Recommended
- Absorbency: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Durability and Linting: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Storage: 2 stars out of 3.
These perforated sheets reminded one tester of Viva brand paper towels due to their supersoft texture. They were absorbent, stayed strong while drying dishes, and left only a little lint behind. They didn’t tear while scrubbing dried condiments from a kitchen counter and effortlessly cleaned a variety of surfaces. A drawback was the care of this product. After multiple rinses in the sink, they remained stained and there was still slight discoloration after machine washing. One tester noticed that the sheets were also fluffier after drying, which made them harder to fold and store in a drawer. We recommend line or air drying these sheets to avoid this problem. They’re good for folks who want the look of traditional paper products and the softness of a cloth towel.
- Absorbency: 2 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Durability and Linting: 3 stars out of 3.
- Storage: 2 stars out of 3.
Of all the products in our lineup, these cotton towels most closely resembled dishcloths due to their appearance, size, and thickness. They were nicely sized and felt good in our hands. They didn’t lint, shined wood beautifully, and were easy to launder. Although the towels worked well while wiping down counters or cleaning windows, testers noticed that they weren’t as absorbent when cleaning up big spills. The manufacturer recommends washing them before use to increase absorbency. We observed that their absorbency somewhat increased after we washed them and as we used them, but not to the level of our winner or runner-up. They did not come on a cardboard core and since they were on the thicker side, fitting them all in a drawer was sometimes a challenge.
- Absorbency: 2 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Durability and Linting: 1 stars out of 3.
- Storage: 2.5 stars out of 3.
We loved the simple unbleached and natural look of these hand-sewn towels. They cleaned small messes well and were perfect for making windows crystal clear. Washing them was a breeze and they showed minimal staining but they did not come on a cardboard core and needed to be stored in a drawer or stacked on the counter. Yet, these towels were not as absorbent as our winner, and testers sometimes needed to “double up” when wiping their stovetop or tidying up after a big spill. There were also visible threads hanging from them after our abrasive cutting board test.
Reviews you can trust
Reviews you can trust
The mission of America’s Test Kitchen Reviews is to find the best equipment and ingredients for the home cook through rigorous, hands-on testing. We stand behind our winners so much that we even put our seal of approval on them.
Sawyer Phillips
Sawyer is an assistant digital editor for ATK Reviews. She enjoys baking, collecting Prince records, and all things Toni Morrison.