It seems like we were all wondering just exactly when the local food movement would be co-opted … More...
Miriam Wolf
yesterday at 4:10pm |
Comments (2)
On The Insider:
Amanda Bynes in Crash
Table Manners
The Napkin Defense
You lose cred when you use paper
Dear Helena,
Every year, my mother-in-law gives me something I don’t want for Christmas. One year, it was a Swiffer. Last year, it was a set of linen napkins. She said, “I thought you guys are too grown-up to still be using paper serviettes.” Her tone implied that using paper napkins is like having unframed posters tacked to the walls and a bong on the coffee table. Is there something tacky about using paper napkins or (gasp!) squares of paper towel? Frankly, I feel table linens are a little old-fashioned. —Sick of Passive-Aggressive Gifts
Dear Sick of Passive-Aggressive Gifts,
Cloth napkins may seem like a throwback to the Victorian era. But people used them all the time until the 1950s, according to Cindy Bowden, director of the Robert C. Williams Paper Museum in Atlanta. That was when the paper industry began using more recycled fiber. Because recycled cost less than virgin fiber, paper manufacturers could produce cheap, disposable products like napkins, she explains.
But there’s a very modern reason to use cloth napkins whenever possible: They’re ecofriendly. Even recycled paper napkins (or paper towels) consume energy and resources in their manufacturing, packaging, and shipping. As Crissy Trask, author of It’s Easy Being Green, says: “Any time you can reuse something, it’s better than the disposable version.”
If you’re really scrupulous, buying mismatched, secondhand cloth napkins is the way to go. Trask recommends thrift stores, or you could try eBay. “Then you keep those napkins out of the landfill,” she says. If the thought of using a stranger’s napkin grosses you out, then the greenest option is a napkin made of “linen or hemp or organic cotton—some natural, sustainable fabric,” Trask says.
Washing cloth napkins does require energy, but there’s no need to do an extra load. Linens are so lightweight, they can go in with the regular laundry. In decades past when people regularly used linen napkins, it wasn’t considered uncouth to go several days before washing them. A different ring often was used to distinguish each person’s napkin when it was stored. This is still a good practice.
“It’s perfectly fine and healthy,” opines Trask. “Napkins don’t get oversoiled in an evening, unless you’re eating pizza or finger food.”
It’s not like wearing your underwear several days in a row. It’s more like sleeping in the same sheets. Your guests, naturally, will always get fresh napkins. But if your family members reuse theirs, no one else needs to know.
Table Manners appears every Wednesday. Have a Table Manners question? Email Helena.
In the Chowhound Boards
In Blog Posts
Gary Regan's "The Joy of Mixology"
Get to know your cocktail. More...
Amy Wisniewski
yesterday at 3:58pm |
Comments (1)
Cupertino’s new iRestaurant shuffles the playlist. More...
Cicely Wedgeworth
yesterday at 1:41pm |
Comments (0)
My Hawaiian vacation fantasy. More...
Daniel Duane
Wednesday, July 9, 2008 at 3:45pm |
Comments (8)
Using linen napkins at home for everyday use is just silly. Especially if you're planning on having a party (not a dinner party but a regular one). Paper is a completely organic substance and decomposes in a fill within a few short weeks. Also, paper is derived from farm raised trees these days: so no more rain forests getting cut down. Washing linen napkins may require you to wash a separate load which may use a lot of energy and is overall worse for the environment. I understand the going "green" trend these days but it's starting to get annoyingly imposing and often just silly.
Paper may decompose in a fill, but it still adds to the mountains and mountains of trash - and if it's contained in a sealed bag (dunno about where you live, digkv, but in Boston that's how we're required to dispose of all garbage) it's going to have a hard time decomposing anyway.
As mentioned in the original article above, cloth napkins DO NOT require a separate laundry load.
I plead guilty to using paper napkins day-to-day, but received a set of hand-embroidered napkins that I use when we have guests for dinner. We have a couple of other sets as well. I may set our supply of paper napkins aside for when we're having a buffet-style open house party, and put the cloth napkins into daily use.
Here in Toronto we have city-wide composting, and we throw our kleenex, paper napkins, etc. in there.
Even though they may compost well, paper products require energy and chemicals to produce. That being said, I still use them, but I'm thinking I may look into getting a handkerchief and a nice set of cloth napkins now.
I never realized it, but we use cloth at my house only. We are just two though.
I have cloth napkins for when I have guests. When I don't have guests I either use one of a collection of paper napkins acquired along with takeout orders or a kitchen towel. Of course, I live alone, so I'm allowed to be uncouth.
I frequently purchase monogrammed, high quality paper napkins as gifts for friends. Sure, it's not ecofriendly, but I feel that it is a nice touch if you are going to use paper anyway.
One couple had weekly dinner parties during the viewing of their favorite TV show- the napkins were a fun touch to a casual event.
I always use cloth napkins except maybe if I am having a very large, non sit down, party with lots of finger food. I have many sets, mostly cotton, which I just drop into the washer with my other laundry. I don't iron them unless I'm planning a more formal sit down dinner. I'm always surprised when people make a fuss over my cloth napkins, as if I am being overly formal. As pointed out, cloth is more eco-friendly, but also cheaper and just more efficient! They don't tear or wear out during a meal, and I think they get my hands cleaner. I really can't see any reason to use paper except for a really big crowd.
if the plates and tablecloth are paper, then the napkins should be as well - also goes well with plastic forks and knives - unless the crowd is large or the food especially messy, paperware is classless and eco-awful.
>cloth napkins DO NOT require a separate laundry load.
you're willing to wipe your face something that gets washed with underwear?
My husband and I have always used cloth napkins at dinner time. It's a nice touch to a home cooked meal, and our napkins are really nothing fancy. We do re-use before washing if they haven't been too soiled.
Lunch on the other hand, when we're home, is a paper napkin or paper towel.
My guests are already over-freaked out about getting the tiniest spot on my carpet, couch, tablecloth, etc. Do I need to make them worry about staining my linen napkins, too? Cause they will, no matter what I say.
Also, unhip and old-fashioned as this may be, I have to let my hatred of germs take precedent over my desire to be "green."
Anyone have any favorite sources for good looking cloth napkins?
> you're willing to wipe your face something that gets washed with underwear?
Well, if you wash your underwear with your towels or your pillow cases, it's already happening. Besides, you're WASHING it. It's clean!
> you're willing to wipe your face something that gets washed with underwear?<
Is this a real question, or are you pulling our legs?
I do like using cloth napkins, but they get so stained. Wine, tomato sauce, oil from salad dressing.
After a few uses you can't use them for company anymore. Where's the savings (ecologically and otherwise) in constantly having to replace your cloth napkins?
Cloth napkins are a snap to make, even with the most rudimentary stitching skills. In a short afternoon you can have enough for a large formal sit-down, for the price of a couple yards of cotton fabric.
If you can't sew at all, try this cloth napkin solution: I get lovely Guatemalan cotton fabrics (not very expensive, and look great either side), mark off sizes, make a starter cut and then, well rip it along the grain. Once the pieces are torn, simply pull out the edge threads to fringe to about 1/2". They make great casual napkins, and get softer and more absorbent with every washing.
Love, love, love cloth napkins, even though we also use paper in certain instances. As for the washing - don't sweat it, folks. Heck, people wash their socks with their underwear all the time. Anything can give one the willies when over-thought.
In a pinch, my sleeve has never failed me
I only use cloth napkins at home. I have a huge collection which I have acquired by buying sale linens at places like Anthropology and Pier One where you can get super cute, cotton prints that are perfect for everyday. My hubby and I are believers in reusing our "it basically sat on our lap" linens and tossing them in with the color appropriate laundry loads when meals are a bit messier. My "nice" linens are white cotton but sometimes they get used on Tuesday nights. It's a nice touch, eco friendly and economical.
Unless guests are around, I use my socks.
My wife and I use cloth napkins. We have a stack of white, 100% cotton napkins that can be bleached. We each use one or two a week. They go into the wash with our sheets and towels.
<you're willing to wipe your face something that gets washed with underwear?>
Are you kidding????
What makes you think that napkins are made and stored in hygenic conditions? They are not food - who knows what regulations govern their manufacture or what chemicals are used in the process.
I was brought up using cloth napkins (and a personal napkin holder for storage for daily use). They are to be used at the table to wipe your hands and mouth so I cannot imagine why people are so worried about staining. You are not to wipe the table or counter with them so with general everyday use, do NOT get that dirty and stained. On top of that, cotton napkins are very easy to launder.
Paper napkins often float off the lap or too easily crumple into a ball. They make me feel like I'm at a picnic. The most uncouth thing is to serve a paper towel square to a guest!!!!
re: staining
I like the idea of white napkins that can be bleached! Great idea. We've gone the other route: bright, colorful napkins that hide the stains (not unlike the rec-room carpet). Along with a relax sense of stain propriety, this seems to do the trick.
Whoa! This is a hot topic.
I don't like using paper napkins because I'm not very messy when I'm eating usually... I just wash my hands at the sink when I'm done and dry my hands on a clean kitchen towel that hangs on the oven for about a week. I hate sitting at a table with paper napkins because I don't really need it, but then I feel pressured into using them...especially the really fancy expensive paper napkins.
I also try to use paper towels sparingly and use kitchen towels instead.
I have cloth napkins that I use when I feel like being messy. They are really great for picnics and camping too.
I understand that etiquette and well-set tables are important to people, but shouldn't eating be fun?
I prefer to purchase high-end lingerie specifically for the purpose of cleaning my face, actually.
I use organic napkins exclusively.
I have a dozen chili pepper bandanas that are our everyday napkins. 100% cotton/coton, and pretty much indestructable. I think I paid $1 for them ten years ago. Cloth is my choice for kitchen jobs. A clean dish towel is always on hand when I cook.
Wow, look at the all the irrational defense of paper napkins. Man did they brainwash consumers in the 50s in the name of convenience (and profits)... I grew up in a paper napkin household, now the wife and I use cloth napkins on a daily basis because THEY'RE BETTER at what they do and they improve the setting of any meal formal or informal (and as a plus it's the greener, more cost effective option). Once you start using cloth there's no going back... Oh yeah, we also prefer cloth underwear and towels, but that's just us.
it is amazing to me how germ-phobic people are about re-using cloth napkins or washing them with underwear. what utter nonsense.
we use cloth all the time, we might keep some paper on hand for a picnic or for an especially messy meal, say, having friends for BBQ in the summer. cloth napkins are cheap. easy to make by yourself if you sew at all, and really not hard to buy for a buck or two - get em on sale at marshalls or bed bath and beyond or wherever.
sometimes we use the same napkin all week, sometimes a meal or two is messy enough that they need to be washed. we buy darker colors and don't worry much about stains. if they do stain, oh well, we can buy more sometime.
its easy, just like we use tea towels in the kitchen and hand towels in the bathroom. in our household, it represents a savings on the cost of disposable paper products as well as a good move ecologically.
Sorry, it's a fact: paper napkins are disposible and that means they add more volume to the waste stream. Also here are a few other inconvenient facts for paper napkin junkies:
pulp and paper mills, you know like the ones that make PAPER NAPKINS, are among the worst polluters of air and water.
The respondent who thinks that because some of our paper may come from tree farms makes it okay to overuse paper is misinformed about the ecology of tree farms. Tree farms are often created on deforested land! Land that has been cleared to plant a mono-crop has none of the properties or benefits of a diverse, fully functioning forest. Even if a tree farm's existence did not come at the expense of a healthy forest, the land, water and energy used, and pollution created to make napkins from trees is UNNECESSARY.
If you're going to use paper--at least use recycled content paper napkins. No one on this stream has even mentioned that!!
Wake up you people who are defending paper napkins and berating cloth napkins as "overboard" and "silly" What's silly, even irresponsible is consuming disposable products when practical alternatives are right in front of you.
Also if you are a germ-a-phobe, get over it, see a mental health professional. It's all relative. You're not a three year old, grow-up people. Speaking of which, think of the world your three year old WILL grow-up in.
DUH!
Yours truly,
C of the L
Las year I picked up an inexpensive set of cloth napkins, figuring they'd be nicer to have for dinner parties. I use them ALL THE TIME, on a daily basis. They take up barely any room in the laundry, probably all 12 take up the same amount of space as one towel. So I toss them in with my usual whites load, which tends to be small anyway, and I'm not using any more water or detergent then I would otherwise be using.
I love having fresh, clean linens instead of tacky paper napkins. It is more eco-friendly, similar to how using a few dish towels is going to be more eco-friendly than going through rolls of paper towels, and it adds a touch of grace to my dinner table. Cloth napkins also simply absorb better and feel softer on the skin than paper.
Also: They're cheaper. My one 12-set of cloth napkins has probably saved me a couple of hundred bucks worth of paper napkins. As stated above, I toss them in with my usual whites load and am not using any additional detergent to cleanse them.
Okay, so we have:
- Less expensive than paper napkins.
- Better absorption.
- Better looking.
- Better environmentally.
- Easy to clean.
If you're worried about having to bleach your cloth napkins then buy black ones. Black looks wonderful son the table with most place settings.
I admit that having a laundry shoot next to my dining room does help. It might be less convienent for me to use them if I wasn't a few steps away from a shoot that leads down to a bin next to my laundry room. So I'm lucky in that regard. I would probably still use them without the shoot, though; I'd probably put a little basket under my kitchen sink and store them in there until laundry day.
This topic has inspired me to pick up cloth napkins for my more domestic friends for the holidays. It's the type of thing that some people never consider buying, but once you have them around and don't consider them "too fancy" for every day use then they turn out to be an amazing addition to the household!
As a person who uses both paper and cloth napkins at home, I really think cloth makes more sense -- but like everything else our consumerselves want, paper is unfortunately just plain easier! :-(
I think we should bring back cloth!!! Save unsightly garbage and space.
...And as for those of you who are freaked out by washing cloth napkins with underwear (geez), just buy some brand of color-safe bleach (which will kill germs) and be done with it. Don't be silly.
I always used to use cloth when it was just me, or if I was entertaining guests, and I kept the paper napkins around for emergencies ... or wrapping sandwiches in if I was having a late-night snack.
I gave up using cloth napkins while living with my current roommates. Suffice it to say that they've managed to render most of them unusable. However, once I'm on my own again, I'll go back to cloth. It just feels pleasant to have that little extra bit of polish at the table.
I used to sew my own cotton print cloth napkins, but got tired of grease stains ruining my favorite ones, and the folding and storing issue.
Now I use paper.
Maybe I'll go back to making some cloth if I can figure out my new sewing machine. But I'll still hate folding napkins.
I'm not making accusations against fellow Chow posters, but I've noticed that many issues of grace and manners have fallen by the wayside in the last several years.
We do use paper napkins sometimes, but when I have guests over or want to make dinner a little nicer, I pull out the cloth ones. My guests are so intimidated by this. They act like it's dinner at the White House! It's just a piece of cloth! Not $2000 per yard Chinese silk!!!
Mealtime should be relaxed, yes, but not so relaxed that no one has the decency to use a napkin (paper or cloth) and put it in their lap. And using paper towels as napkins? This is just ridiculous. Why not just eat dinner on the toilet?
I actually have decided to use the cloth napkins more often. And I'm thinking about (for regular meals during the week) assigning a different color napkin for each person since there are five of us. This would help with reusing them. Besides it's so easy to pick up a 4 pack for a couple of dollars at a home store. And we're kinda eclectic anyway. We can use the white ones for more formal dinners.
I can see the day coming when the carefully set table with napkins and tablecloth will be an exhibit in a musuem, and "manners" will be an outdated concept only practiced by a select few who are laughed at.
I never noticed anyone mentioning they used paper towels for napkins...but even if someone did, how is that just as ridiculous as eating on the toilet?
I think what kind of napkin a person uses at the dinner table is a tiny, pretty much negligible part of what makes someone mannered of not.
>and "manners" will be an outdated concept only practiced by a select few who are laughed at.
While some people have very little in the way of manners (this is certainly nothing new), I think what's more happening is that traditional manners are being examined and ones that aren't practical and don't make a lot of sense (e.g. no elbows on the table) are being thrown by the wayside. I, for one, am quite pleased about this. Manners should have rational reasons for their existence.
I've known people who have used paper towels for napkins, and I never thought it was a big deal, nor do I see how that could possibly be equated with eating on the toilet. Last I checked, we don't keep paper towels in our bathroom.
Ok, I admit it. I went a little overboard with the "eating on the toilet" comment. A little too much hyperbole?
I'm one of those who is so persecuted by my crude, ill-mannered friends that it has given me an ENORMOUS chip on my shoulder. Well, actually they're my husband's friends. If he invites them over, and I throw together a little "casual but elegant" meal, they are openly rude and make mocking comments about either the food or the fact that I didn't serve pigs in a blanket and velveeta dip. Now I'm not doing anything snobby or showy at all.
While there's a time and place for almost everything and every food, sometimes you want to show people that they are important to you (or to your spouse) by spending a few extra minutes of effort. You don't just have an attitude of "Oh, it's just you".
But I am pretty sure that paper towels are for cleaning, wiping up spills, and drying one's hands after handwashing. They are a bit rough for wiping the mouth, so that's why you wouldn't want to use them at mealtimes, even if you do favor paper products instead of cloth napkins.
But as far as manners go, I do agree that some are pretty outdated, such as switching the fork from the left hand to the right after cutting meat. But what I was talking about was chewing with one's mouth closed, not slurping or loudly crunching, actually using a napkin at all, not smacking, etc. It is appalling that parents in my area aren't even teaching their children these things. I'm not so concerned that people worry about purchasing dinner or luncheon silver, but just the simple stuff is what's becoming a dying art.
Go to a Mexican restaurant and people are shoving the entire chip into their mouths. You shouldn't hear one person's crunching across the room. Go to a movie and you can hear one person eating popcorn 20 rows back. Simply because they stuff a wad of it in their cakehole instead a small amount. And they aren't closing their mouths to chew. And people are yacking on cellphones about nothing important, and they don't even sit down to eat with their kids. It's all just served in front of the TV. With no napkins at all.
I generally endorse cloth napkins, although since we have kids, I turned to paper napkins because kids are messy. Actually, I normally gave my 4yr old paper towels because after he is done, I used the same paper towel to mop up his spill (often happens) and then pick up the crumbs/rice on the floor. So, paper towels definitely have its place.
I just bought a load of brightly colored, linen napkins on eBay. Those babies are just one hot wash away from hitting my table!
>Go to a movie and you can hear one person eating popcorn 20 rows back.
Hehe, I think I'm guilty of doing that. I think of the movies as a place where food manners don't apply. Shoveling popcorn down my mouth is really enjoyable when watching a movie: I find it too difficult and not as satisfying to eat popcorn a piece at a time.
I also have to agree with vorpal in the manners aren't dying out they are just evolving into more practical things. I'm sure you can take a slob to a fancy restaurant and he'll know what to do. It's more to do with the environment created than the actual lack of knowledge. Its a trend to create more casual type dining areas now: you shouldn't expect to go in a laid back Mexican cantina restaurant serving nachos and expect them to take dainty bites out of their chips. They are probably with friends drinking loudly and eating nachos (I also find it difficult to bite into a chip since all the toppings are going to fall off and the chip will just crumble up.)
laundry CHUTE, for crying out loud!
Dish rags. We use dish rags. Cheap, washable dish rags. Work great. Keep my mouth and hands clean. Highly recommended.
It is hard to picture how much paper napkins contribute to your trash, but it is easier to judge how big of a part they are of the total inflow of paper goods into your house. Compare the volume of your napkin purchases to the volume of paper towels, face wipes, toilet paper, and printer paper. If you switched to cloth, how much would that reduce your total paper consumption? In mine, tp use far outweighs all the others.
paulj
My family has always used cloth. BF has paper and likes them I think it was how he was raised, but I don't like using them because I do think it is wasteful, and he will use whatever is set on the table I don't think he cares it was just easier in his bachelor days not to add more laundry. My favorite brand is April Cornell because they last so long and wear very well. But you can only get those online or in certain stores now. I like the dark and colorful ones so they don't get stains or you can't see them, we use black patterned with spaghetti and etc. But I have some from my Grandmother and all sorts of cute ones they are just so pretty. We use ours more than once unless really soiled, then just toss them in with other things in the wash.
I had no idea this was such a big topic. We use cloth- accumulated from sales, usually brights with whites for dressier events- and the all important napkin ring. This is the personalized option that keeps each member of the household from using someone else's napkin and shows each where to sit at a full table meal meal. I never understand the matching sets of rings sold to decorate a table since it negates the personalizing benefit of knowing yours is the ladybug and your big brother's is the gnu.
What a tempest in a teapot this turned out to be!
> you're willing to wipe your face something that gets washed with underwear?<
I think the writer was teasing somebody- LOL
My problem with cloth is that there's no way I', going to put cloth napkins in the laundry with my clothes, which generally DON'T have grease, leftover chocolate or enchilada sauce on them- at least not until they get washed with cloth napkins.
oh thank you, thank you guys! Today was my first day back at work after two weeks, yukky enough but at lunch I managed to slip on ice and crash on my wrist. After such a crappy day, this thread made me laugh out loud (as I hold my tender wrist encased in icepak and try to type).
After all that (omg -- shute not shoot, underwear? for god's sake), I am inspired! We have always had cloth napkins for guests and paper for everyday. But now I think cloth every day is the way to go. Will get my hands on a goodly amount of white (the bleach factor) napkins and just add them to my othe linens/towels.
thanks again! (ouch)
In our house it's cloth for all sit-down dinners, family to formal. We do use paper for big parties with stand-up eating only.
And anyone who has any problem with washing napkins together with the rest of the laundry, whether due to underwear or grease concerns, really needs to get a better washing machine! (or possibly an appt with a psychiatrist...)
We'll use the paper napkins that come with the 'za and other takeout foods, but for general use, it's cloth napkins- for all the good reasons everyone else has given.
I've sewn some- small ones for tea or cocktails, big ones for dinner- bought others new on sale, and scour the linen baskets at my favourite secondhand store for vintage. For me, it's worth the time and effort to wash and press them. Yeah, I'm hardcore that way: I'll iron AND starch the big linen ones.
Our friends aren't intimidated by cloth napkins at dinner. They're flattered that we go to the effort to serve them with our best. And when dining just the two of us, it's a nice reminder that we're woth our best, too.
I actually bought an inexpensive set of twin sheets on sale at Target and made napkins from them. Most napkin sets are 100% cotton, but I wanted a little tiny bit of poly so they wouldn't be as wrinkled coming out of the dryer. But you still need enough cotton so they don't feel like wiping your face with a lounge-lizard's old suit! These sheets were the 200 count 60/40 blend, and they were perfect.
It's a lot cheaper to do this, plus it was a great way to teach my daughters how to use the sewing machine. And if there's a stain that won't come out, it's not a big problem since the money invested is just pennies!
A Swiffer, eh? I would not mind that. But paper napkins, ugh! It feels like your wiping your face on concrete. But, you don't come up with scratches. And paper towels. It's bad even if your lips are damp or wet! But when they're dry, it hurts like hell. So I would be VERY greatful for those, even if they look like window treatments.
A Swiffer, eh? I would not mind that. But paper napkins, ugh! It feels like you're wiping your face on concrete. But, you don't come up with scratches. And paper towels. It's bad even if your lips are damp or wet! But when they're dry, it hurts like hell. So I would be VERY greatful for those, even if they look like window treatments.
I'm down with cloth - we have tons of cloth napkins. Though we are occasionally guilty of using paper towels *gasp* or paper napkins - usually for a quick on-the-run meal, or a bigger party. My mother keeps giving me paper napkins, the kind with fancy or whimsical designs - I'll have to gently inform her we've 'got enough'!
Whether it's a casual or more formal meal, our dinner guests have never minded using cloth. I fully agree, as well as being more eco-friendly, it should make your dinner companions feel a bit special!
Never occurred to me to make my own napkins. Great idea.
Since nobody mentioned it, if you're using bleach to whiten, make sure it's of the non-chlorine type!