GreenDeals Daily

Those ubiquitous little yellow and green Polyurethane sponges will be around long after you return to the earth from whence you came. Twist is trying to change all that with their sponges made from natural ingredients that biodegrade in just 7 weeks!

Made from cellulose and cotton, Twist sponges are a great alternative to oil-derived products. All are 100% biodegradable and packaged in minimal non-platic packaging that have fun cutouts printed on the back. The company says 99.97% of it's waste is reused in production and they even provide educational support to the community in Mexico where the sponges are produced.

I tried the scrubby Loofah Sponge #50 ($4.99 for two), the Euro Sponge #10 ($1.99) and the Euro Sponge Cloth #20 ($3.99 for three). All performed well and the Euro sponges are even dishwasher safe and boil-able for disinfection. While these prices may seem high, it's not so bad when you consider the company's claim that the pack of Euro Sponge Cloths will outlast 17 rolls of paper towel.

These sponges seem like a great step toward reducing paper consumption in the kitchen but I do have a few misgivings about how eco-conscious the company is. Their cellulose is tree-based and while it comes from sustainably managed tree farms in Norway, I feel there must be faster growing domestic crops that could be used instead. I also didn't notice any indication that the packaging contained any post-consumer recycled materials - and why couldn't the sponges themselves be made from recycled fiber?

Despite not trying quite hard enough in the green department, Twist sponges are a move in the right direction. Here's how I rated them:

• Green: 2.5/4
• Value: 2/3
• Quality: 3/3
• Final GreenDeals score: 7.5/10

Have you eliminated paper towels in the kitchen?