OK, so this one’s kind of a no-brainer, but it’s not something that people necessarily intuit on their own. For years, I proclaimed myself a dedicated environmentalist, and yet… every time allergy season rolled around, I would go out and purchase box upon box of “Ultra” tissues, or “lotioned” tissues, or “Super” tissues. All made from trees and going straight into the trash.

This isn’t to say that one isn’t a “true environmentalist” until you stop using Kleenex… but making the switch to a non-disposable way of blowing your nose is incredibly easy, and anyone can do it—and it will have a very concrete impact on the world. Paper companies will receive less money, cut down less trees, and less waste will end up in our landfills.

The Modern Hankie

The clear alternative to tissues are handkerchiefs, or their modern-day, budget equivalent: bandanas. You can usually purchase bandanas for relatively cheap at your local clothing or camping supply store ($1 a piece or cheaper). If you’re hoping to go the organic cotton or hemp route, the price can climb quite steeply ($9-20) but the tradeoff of a sustainably produced hankie might be worth it for you.

When you first purchase the hankies, they will be stiff and somewhat painful to wipe your nose with. Throwing them in each time you do a load of laundry can help to break them in. Soaking them in vinegar overnight is also a good way to soften them up. The more you wash them and break them in, the softer they will be on your nose.

Care and Feeding

Once you have them broken in, you can carry them around (I have one folded up in my pocket at all times) and use them each time you need to blow your nose. Again, this seems like a no-brainer, but think of how many tissues the average tissue-user goes through in a given year. Ten boxes? Twenty? Forty for the more stuffy-nosed out there? It is a tremendous amount of paper, at any rate, and using a hankie can eliminate all of that waste and save some trees too.

Of course, washing is important. I like to wash mine, as a rule, every week; but during high-usage times I will sometimes go through a hankie a day. And when I have a cold—forget it! I’ll go through 3 or 4 a day, as they slowly get sodden and… well I won’t go into it. Anyway it’s good to have a stash of 10 or 15 hankies, so you always have a ready supply even when your laundry pile is building up.

One way to start affecting some change in your nose-blowing world is converting your friends to hankie-using ways. An easy way to do this is to simply surprise them with a supply of 7 or 8 hankies. It makes a nice gift, and they will think fondly of you each time they blow their nose in a reusable, sustainable hankie.

Eliminating disposable paper products is an easy way to start changing your world. Tissues are pervasive in our society—and they are also utterly avoidable. Making the switch is easy, and not only will your nose thank you; the forests will too.