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Natural Loofah Kitchen Sponges vs. Synthetic Sponges vs. Greener Clean Sponges

biodegradable eco-friendly products environmental angst environmentally friendly natural kitchen sponges zero waste zerowaste

natural loofah kitchen sponges vs synthetic sponges vs greener clean sponges

You likely have a go to sponge or one that your parents used. It may just be that green and yellow one, correct? If not, then some iteration. 

Although, I commend the engineers at 3M for coming up with a way to use 100% recycled plastic and even launching a plant-based one too

Bizarrely they can’t seem to break free from plastic in their packaging. Infuriating and totally at odds with anyone trying to go plastic-free.   

Not only that one reviewer on amazon dug deeper and found this disturbing fact: 

After speaking with 3M directly about their SCRUBBING sponges, they have said that that the SPONGE portion is natural made from cellulose and paper. The SCRUBBER part is 50% agave AND 50% NYLON/POLYESTER. You cannot compost these sponges 'as is' nor the one that is just the scrubber. If you can separate the scrubber from the sponge (and I have tried and failed), you can compost the sponge portion and landfill to never break down the scrubber part.

That person rightly felt duped by the 3M greenwashing. 

Not only are the so-called greener clean sponges not compostable they could be hiding like most other synthetic sponges something a bit more sinister. 

Most antibacterial sponges have been treated with the antibacterial/antifungal agent triclosan. This has been banned from other products in most countries, but could still be lurking in your kitchen. 

OK, so what are we to do? What sustainable solutions can people come up with? Surely making a compostable and totally natural dishwashing sponge should not be out of the realm of human ingenuity. 

Of course, like most things nature already figured this out. We just had to observe the wonderful loofah plant.  Here is a renewable resource that has an incredible sponge matrix built right in. 

Thank you Mother Nature once again for your brilliance. 

Luffa or loofah scrubbers are abrasive enough for most cleaning chores while being totally safe on all surfaces. 

So despair not. Like Gaia Guy's Plastic-free Bottle Brush, Pot Brush, Dish Brush Set - Zero Waste Natural Fiber Kitchen Brushes, there is a simple plastic-free and zero waste swap that is also affordable and long lasting. 

Gaia Guy’s single layer loofah sponges dry fast and don’t trap food particles like double layer ones. What’s more, the double or triple layer ones more often than not use polyester threads (petroleum based). 

These are also multifunctional as one delighted customer on amazon discovered.

Grab a 10-pack of natural kitchen sponges from Gaia Guy or amazon. Packaged in a kraft paper box. 

Ditch the plastic polluting sponges and their plastic packaging. 

Think of it as saying thank you back to Mother Earth.  



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