A Product Paper Towel Manufacturers Don't Want You to Know About

I was out looking for interesting products as I often do and I happened upon an item at Sam's Club that made me do a double take.  Ecolab Proforce Reusable Foodservice Towels was the item that stopped me mid aisle.  The first thought that came to my mind was oh boy I bet this is something paper towel manufacturers are trying to keep off mainstream store shelves.

The reusable foodservice towels as they are called were in the cleaning products aisle at Sam's Club in the industrial cleaning section.  Interestingly they were not the area with the products aimed at consumers.  These towels come 25 in a pack for $6.99 are reusable and machine washable.  They are made of non-woven cotton.

Can you imagine if these caught on?  What am impact they would have on reducing waste and putting a dent in the disposable paper products market.  Wow.  I was excited for a couple reasons.  First off the price.  Secondly they actually look and feel like a heavy duty paper towel. 

Judging by the way many consumers in this country react to "greener" products I thought these actually looked like something people wouldn't immediately label as "green" and therefore steer clean of.  These towels look like highly functional heavy duty paper towels.  I think they could work mainstream.

Are they the ideal option?  No.  But lets face it disposable paper products are an environmental disaster.  If by some amazing series of events these actually started to gain market share in the U.S. and were sold as a mainstream product,  the impact they would have would be amazing.

Comments

[vera]

This is pretty neat! I think I'll have to ask my mom to pick some of these up for me when she goes to Sam's Club. I wonder if they would also be good substitutes as napkins?

[Stephen]

I wonder if Costco sells something similar?

[rachel]

I bought these last weekend at Sam's, and they are wonderful! They work great as paper towels. I've used them to clean produce, cover food in the microwave, clean the kitchen, bathrooms, wipe down the baby, you name it. I actually cut them in half so I have 50 to use and reuse since they were so big originally. They are so much like paper towels, and much thinner than the dishtowels I was trying to substitute paper with. Thanks for the suggestion!

[Susie]

just stumbled across your blog.. great find! I love finding eco-friendly products at the grocery store and such.

[MitchLE]

We've used this product for six months and it is outstanding. However, as theorized in the review, the paper companies apparently didn't like it. Sam's Club has replaced ProForce Reusable Towels with a paper-based towel. As a result, ProForce has discontinued manufacturing of this product. If anybody knows of a good replacement or of a Sam's Club that has some left, please let me know.

[e]

If we all called Sam's club to carry it again, I think they might bring it back. I have been using these towels for some time and went to buy more and they said it has been discontinued! LETS ALL START E-MAILING TO SAMS CLUB TO BRING THEM BACK!!!!!

[TERESA GIFFORD]

EVERYONE DEFINITELY NEEDS TO E-MAIL SAM'S AND ASK THEM TO BRING THE TOWELS BACK. PLEASE KEEP SUGGESTING THIS IDEA.

[Dora C Doan]

I bought these towels at Sam's Club but they sotped sell them. Were cane I oder them on line? Dora

[Jess]

Oh shoot! I want these and can't find them! I was at Sam's last night and didn't see them...now I see here that Sam's no longer carries them. I emailed the "Proforce" customer service and asked where I can get them, so we'll see. I will email Sam's now! :)

[teresa]

You cannot get them anywhere. I think everyone should flood Sam's with e-mails expressing their disappointment that they no longer carry the item.

[Noe Alcala]

I've been trying to find a store or website that sells this product. It seems to have been sweeped the papertowel industry off it's feet and possibly threatened to put them out of business. Please send me some information where I can find this excellent product. Friends, neighbors, and relatives are anxiously awaiting this information. ProForce Reusable Food Service Towels, are unequivocally the BEST kitchen towel out there.

Noe A

[paper shredder]

I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

[nate]

i have been using these for years. I work in a restaurant where we use these towels for everything, eventually some make it home with me. You should be able to find them through a restaurant supply company.

[Christopher M. Dunn]

Disposable paper products are not an environmental disaster. Rather, they are very renewable, and are easily biodegraded- I use them in my compost pile. Rags used in place of paper towels can promote the spread of germs. The more paper towels are bought, the more refined they become through research and development, the more trees are planted that bring balance to CO2 levels, and the more incentive created to manage resources- forests, pulp, machinery, and labor- efficiently and productively.

[Shredders]

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[ShamWow]

Good post. I use reusable towels instead of paper towels anyway. I find that they work a lot better. I can just clean things up with my ShamWow and its can be used over and over again. It works much better than a paper towel could anyway.