Going Zero Waste

Are Reusable Cotton Swabs Worth It?
Are Reusable Cotton Swabs Worth It? An Honest Answer
Reusable cotton swabs work as well as disposables for cosmetic tasks, cost less over time, and have a measurably lower environmental impact. Here is the evidence. Lue lisää...
Complete Guide to Reusable Cotton Swabs
The Complete Guide to Reusable Cotton Swabs (2026)
Everything you need to know about reusable cotton swabs: how they work, how they compare to Q-Tips and Amazon Basics, what the EU ban means, and whether the switch is... Lue lisää...
The Complete Guide to Reusable Tissues
The Definitive Guide to Switching from Disposable to Reusable Tissues Tissues are one of the last unconsidered disposables in most zero-waste bathrooms. This guide covers everything: what reusable tissues are, how they compare to disposables, the different types available, care instructions, and how to choose the right option for you. What Are Reusable Tissues? Reusable tissues are washable alternatives to single-use facial tissues. Instead of pulling a paper tissue from a box, using it for seconds, and discarding it, you use a small cloth — typically organic cotton or bamboo... Lue lisää...
Why We Created LastSwab
Why We Created LastSwab
LastSwab started with a simple question: why does something used for 30 seconds need to be thrown away? The story of how we built a reusable cotton swab — and... Lue lisää...
8 Everyday Situations Where Reusable Tissues Outperform Disposables
When Reusable Actually Wins on Performance Most reusable alternatives to disposables involve some compromise on convenience. Reusable tissues are one of the exceptions — there are specific situations where cloth outperforms paper, not just environmentally, but in the actual experience of using it. Here are eight of them. 1. The Prolonged Winter Cold Three days into a heavy cold, your nose is raw, chapped, and sensitive. This is exactly when most people reach for Kleenex Balsam with added aloe and wish they could find something gentler. Cotton jersey does not... Lue lisää...
LastSwab vs Q-Tips: An Honest Comparison
LastSwab vs Q-Tips: An Honest Comparison
Q-Tips invented the cotton swab category. LastSwab was designed to replace it. Here is a direct, honest comparison across performance, cost, health, and environmental impact. Lue lisää...
Why We Created LastTissue
A Box of Kleenex Isn't a Single Piece of Plastic Most people, when they think about plastic-free living, think about bottles, bags, and straws. A box of tissues doesn't obviously register as a problem. It's paper, after all. But a standard tissue box contains a plastic film window, a plastic opening tab, and in most cases the tissues themselves contain polyester fibres. None of it is recyclable once used. When we started mapping the disposable products in the average bathroom, tissues appeared consistently in the top five by volume. And... Lue lisää...
LastSwab vs Amazon Basics
LastSwab vs Amazon Basics Cotton Swabs: Is the Cheapest Option Actually the Cheapest?
Amazon Basics cotton swabs cost almost nothing per unit. So how does a reusable swab that costs more compare on total cost, waste, and performance over time? Lue lisää...
Are Cloth Handkerchiefs and Reusable Tissues Hygienic?
The "Gross Factor" Argument, Examined The most common objection to reusable tissues is hygiene — specifically, the idea that putting a used cloth back in your pocket is inherently disgusting or dangerous. This argument was deployed effectively by Kleenex's marketing campaigns in the mid-20th century and persists today, despite limited scientific support. Here is what the evidence actually suggests. The Science of Handkerchief Hygiene Academic research on handkerchief hygiene is surprisingly sparse — it is not a topic that attracts significant research funding. The available studies are mixed but broadly... Lue lisää...
EU Plastic Cotton Swab Ban
The EU Plastic Cotton Swab Ban: What It Covers, What It Doesn't, and What Comes Next
The EU banned plastic-stemmed cotton swabs in 2021. The UK followed. Here is exactly what the law says, which products are affected, and why banning plastic stems alone does not... Lue lisää...
LastTissue vs Kleenex: An Honest Comparison
The World's Most Famous Tissue vs. Its Reusable Alternative Kleenex is so dominant in the tissue category that its name has become generic — in the UK, "Kleenex" is often used to mean any facial tissue, regardless of brand. It is the benchmark against which any alternative is measured. Here is an honest, feature-by-feature comparison. Softness Kleenex: Tissue softness is achieved through a combination of short, fine fibres, embossing, and in premium lines (Ultra Soft, Balsam), added lotion or aloe vera. Kleenex Balsam in particular is designed for raw, irritated... Lue lisää...
Cotton Swab Uses Beyond Ear Cleaning
Cotton Swab Uses Beyond Ear Cleaning (And the Reusable Way to Do All of Them)
Most people use cotton swabs for their ears, but that's not what they're designed for. Here are the tasks cotton swabs actually do well — and how to do them... Lue lisää...
Tissue Statistics: The Real Cost of Disposable Tissues
The Numbers Behind Your Tissue Habit Tissues feel trivial — each one is used for seconds and costs a fraction of a penny. But the aggregate numbers tell a different story. Here is a data-driven look at tissue consumption, its cost, and the impact of switching to reusables. Individual Consumption 7–10 boxes per household per year in the UK (Mintel household tissue data) 560–1,000 individual tissues per household per year Cold season spike: tissue use roughly doubles during winter months — a single cold episode can use 50–100 tissues in... Lue lisää...
Cotton Swab Statistics
Cotton Swab Statistics: The Numbers Behind a Billion-Dollar Throwaway Habit
How many cotton swabs are thrown away every day? How many ear injuries do they cause? The data behind the world's most common single-use personal care item. Lue lisää...
Reusable Tissues: How LastTissue Is Made
Designing a Better Tissue The design challenge for LastTissue was not primarily the cloth — soft, washable cotton has been used as handkerchief material for centuries. The challenge was the system: how do you carry reusable tissues in daily life without the clean ones becoming contaminated by the used ones? The Two-Chamber Case The silicone case is LastTissue's core innovation. It has two distinct chambers: Clean side: Where fresh, washed tissues are stored, accessible from one opening. Used side: Where used tissues go after use, sealed from the clean side.... Lue lisää...
How Cotton Swabs Are Made
How Cotton Swabs Are Made — And Why the Process Is Fundamentally Wasteful
From cotton field to landfill, a disposable cotton swab passes through a surprisingly resource-intensive supply chain for something used for 30 seconds. Lue lisää...
The History of the Handkerchief and How Tissues Took Over
Before the Tissue Box For most of recorded history, the cloth handkerchief served every function that disposable tissues serve today. Blowing the nose, wiping tears, dabbing away perspiration, removing cosmetics — all were the province of a small square of woven fabric, carried in a pocket or sleeve, washed, and used again. The Handkerchief as Cultural Object The handkerchief's history stretches back at least to ancient Greece and Rome, where fine linen squares were carried by the wealthy as symbols of refinement. By the European Renaissance, embroidered handkerchiefs had become... Lue lisää...
The History of the Cotton Swab
The History of the Cotton Swab: From a Baby's Bath to a Global Waste Problem
The cotton swab was invented in 1923. One hundred years later, billions are thrown away every day. Here is the full history — and where the story goes next. Lue lisää...
The Environmental Cost of Disposable Tissues
The Paper Product Nobody Questions Tissues are one of the most universally used disposable products in the world — and one of the least examined. We reach for them automatically: a runny nose, a smudged mascara, a spilled drop of coffee. Each tissue is used for seconds, often less, and discarded. At the individual level, the waste feels trivial. Scaled across billions of people, it is substantial. How Many Tissues Are Used Each Year? Global tissue paper production exceeds 40 million tonnes annually — a figure that has grown consistently... Lue lisää...
Environmental Impact of Cotton Swabs
The Environmental Impact of Cotton Swabs: What the Numbers Actually Say
Billions of cotton swabs end up in landfill and oceans every year. Here is what the numbers actually say about the environmental cost of a single cotton swab. Lue lisää...
Plastic Fantastic? The Dark Side of Plastic Pollution and How We Can Combat It
Plastic Fantastic? The Dark Side of Plastic Pollution and How We Can Combat It
Did you know that over 5 trillion pieces of plastic are floating in the world's oceans?By 2050, this number is expected to be quadrupled. You’ve probably heard the famous phrase,... Lue lisää...
Alternatives To Q Tips – The Safest & Most Eco-Friendly Methods
Alternatives To Q-Tips – The Safest & Most Eco-Friendly Methods
The best alternatives to Q-tips are reusable silicone swabs, ear irrigation kits, and over-the-counter ear drops. For most people, the ears are self-cleaning — earwax is protective and migrates outward... Lue lisää...
How to Safely Clean Your Ears?
How to Safely Clean Your Ears
The safest way to clean your ears is to leave the ear canal alone and clean only the outer ear with a warm, damp cloth or a reusable silicone swab.... Lue lisää...