First Swap

Two swaps to start with.

A glass straw and a Swedish dishcloth. Two small reusables, each replacing something a household otherwise throws out.

• Straight Glass Straw with Brush, 8 inch, from DrinkingStraws.Glass
• Cleaning brush included — stainless steel handle with nylon bristles
• Swedish Dishcloth, Cherry Blossoms, from Three Bluebirds
  

The makers
DrinkingStraws.Glass is a family workshop in Selah, Washington, shaping borosilicate glass by hand since 2011. Three Bluebirds is a family business in Cos Cob, Connecticut, screen printing cloths in small batches since 2013.

Why it is on our shelf
The two swaps that ask least of you. Neither changes how you do anything; they just last.

The swap
Assuming one plastic straw a day, and one roll of paper towels every three weeks for the cloth, this pair replaces 365 plastic straws and 17 paper towel rolls in its first year — 146 g of plastic avoided, estimated.

Small choices add up.