I had a lovely chat with Emma from The Green Collective recently about their new addition…the SPRUCE Dishcloth. I was curious to know the reasons for adding a dishcloth to their range and I wanted to find out what’s so special about the SPRUCE…??
Emma is funny (in the best way)….it seems she has been a little bit obsessed with dishcloths for quite some time now. She’s onto it when it comes to cleanliness and germs and it’s important that she has a decent, hygienic cloth to hand for wiping spills and crumbs from the benchtops and for cleaning dishes.
In her own words she has been “woefully disappointed” with the various options she’s tried. She says this with a huge sigh as if this problem has really weighed her down. Which is a good thing. Because it takes someone to really care about something to try and make it better. And after far-too-many-to-mention microfibre cloths of various brands bit the dust, she decided she must take action.
The origins of the SPRUCE Dishcloth….
Coincidentally, she’d been given a gift some 4 years earlier of a ‘Swedish Dishcloth’. These cloths originated in Sweden in 1949 -they were the brainchild of an engineer and have been used faithfully in Swedish kitchens ever since. Emma loved hers – it had outperformed ALL those microfibre disasters, and so, SPRUCE was born; the Green Collective version of the Swedish dishcloth.
What’s it made of?
The special thing about these cloths is that they are made mostly of cellulose – an organic compound derived from wood pulp or cotton (yes…cellulose is also the main ingredient of textiles made from cotton and linen). It is also the major constituent of paper and card. It is a completely natural product which means that when you’ve finished with your cloth…you can chuck it on the compost and it will totally break down in around 5 weeks. Now that is impressive.
It’s a top performer too
And as a cloth goes, it’s pretty high performance. It can absorb up to 15 times its weight in liquid and is super fast drying so no more soggy cloths lying around breeding germs. Just a single SPRUCE replaces 15 rolls of paper towel and they are easily washable in the dishwasher or washing machine. Emma has 3 cloths on the go in her kitchen at any one time; 1 in use, 1 in the dishwasher for a freshen up and 1 off to the laundry for a proper clean.
And that’s not all….
The SPRUCE Dishcloth actually look good too. I love Emma’s philosophy that ‘sustainable doesn’t have to be beige’, a message we completely embrace and promote on Green Elephant. And why should something we look at and use so much have to be…blah…??!! No reason. So naturally, the SPRUCE comes in a choice of 8 funky, fresh, colourful designs that are the result of a Green Collective collab with two talented Nelson designers Georgie Hoby Scutt from Belle Hawk, and Bec Brown from Clouds of Colour. Emma even got in on the action and designed some herself. It’s pretty hard to choose a favourite…..!!
And so, not only can we save a whole bunch of dishcloths and paper towels from going to landfill, but we can have something that works brilliantly and looks good hanging neatly on our taps. The time has come. At last we can be PROUD of our dishcloths….!!
To take a look at the full range and choose yours head to the Green Collective Store.
And this is my choice of SPRUCE Dishcloth. Hanging with pride on my very shiny tap. I’m giving it a test drive and am loving it so far – I’ll give you a full review in a few weeks time!!
