Next time you need a shower curtain, choose fabric rather than plastic. Fabric shower curtains are easier to wash and reuse, and don’t emit toxic fumes like PVC curtains do.
Photo: Flickr user kissyface under Creative Commons
While my coffee on the run habit has dwindled to a rare indulgence, I find that if I keep a travel mug in my car I'm more likely to remember to use it, thereby diverting at least one paper cup from the landfill. Most coffee shops are happy to serve their patrons coffee in a reusable container, and some even offer a slight discount.
According to Carbonrally, 14.4 billion cups of coffee are bought in disposable paper cups each year. Placed end-to-end, they say, these cups would wrap around the earth 55 times and weigh around 900 million pounds. How's that for inspiration to change?
Whether your drink of choice is hot or cold, bringing your own container will eliminate an unnecessary contribution to the landfill. (In addition to the plastic lid, insulated takeout cups have a thin plastic lining hidden under the innocuous looking paper, which means the cups are not recyclable.)
Next time you need a shower curtain, choose fabric rather than plastic. Fabric shower curtains are easier to wash and reuse, and don’t emit toxic fumes like PVC curtains do.
Photo: Flickr user kissyface under Creative Commons
Any recommendations for good fabric shower curtains?
I have just been thinking about this recently. I am wondering about the price difference. How long do your fabric curtains last? (I have never lived in a place with fabric). It’s just that here, the cheapest fabric shower curtains I can find are about $20, and the plastic ones cost $1. I always try to put the money to the biggest impact (environmental and health), but I am unsure if this would be the right choice. LOL, hope all of this makes sense.
We have a fabric curtain, its lasted more than a year so far and its still in great condition. The one thing I try to remember when I am making a purchase is that if I choose to buy the $1 plastic option, then someone else has to pay the price for my choice. Someone else on a very minimal wage had to spend their time to produce that curtain, someone else may have had to give up some of their rights to a good life because I wanted to spend less money. The environment also had to give up some of its untouched expanses to enable the production. Somewhere along the line the price has to be paid. I can sew the fabric curtain back together, or line it on the outside with a more beautiful piece of fabric in the event it becomes an eye sore. Please remember that when you “save” money, somewhere, somehow the price is paid already.
Very valid points. Thanks for sharing them here!
We have a couple expensive fabric ones, but we also bought cheap liners for them … because I wasn’t sure they would work without them. They are both in “guest” bathrooms, so they don’t get much use. I suppose we could have done without the liners.
Boy, in theory I agree with you, but I always seem to go with plastic because they’re so much easier to keep mildew-free in my house. Do you take your cloth curtains down to wash frequently? I like that plastic can be sprayed off….. Sorry!!!
I have made the brave switch from vinyl to fabric several years ago. My household nearly went into shock, thinking the fabric would ‘leak’ onto the floors. This doesn’t happen. I have also found out living here in Florida, this helps keep the mold and mildew at bay, more than the plastic. Especiallly in a windowless bathroom (small fans also help). Then I got even more braver, switching to $5 (on sale at Target) beige, crushed voile window curtains. The kind that is like a second window curtain, giving the ‘dreamy’ effect. My curtain rod and ceiling are low to the bathtub/shower. Instead of using hooks, which tend to get rusty and mildewed, I bought the 64inch length and slipped onto the shower rod (no hooks!). It took me two panels, but the dreamy effect in the bathroom is nice. It is not the standard longer 84inch length (as in window curtains and shower curtains), so the length comes down a few inches below the tub. No more ‘drag’ into the shower which especially vinyl liner tend to pick up hold scum and more mildew. Also, fabric tends not to hold scum. Washing in a machine, or with a cup of water on the bottem is less problematic…Am considering making my own curtains in the near future, with a small handsized sew machine and purchasing discount fabric…Regardless, I am a huge fan of fabric, especially using the sheer, thin, lightweight window curtains for my bathroom curtains. Thanks for this great article!
I switched a few years ago and am glad I did. I got mine at Bed Bath and Beyond. I like it a lot – it feels much nicer if you brush against it and washes clean quite well.
I hate our plastic shower curtain, which is a habit brought into the marriage from my husband. I would much rather have a cloth one and I am lobbying for that change when it’s time to replace the old plastic one again.
I’m a cloth-gal. Hate the way the plastic ones smell AND feel. And I wash mine on a gentle cycle in the machine with no problem.
But what can I do about the inner plastic liner? We’re really splashy people and would have a double set of cloth shower curtains soaked through in a minute flat (not to mention the mess that would occur when my parents would try to use the shower – they’re not used to a home without a cleaning lady). Any suggestions there?
I bought a fabric curtain in our last place and now we have doors, but I’m keeping my curtain stored just in case I need it again. I like how the fabric ones look.
Will do! We have the same shower curtain that was in the house when we bought it for one shower, and a stall for the other. But I’m buyin’ fabric next time I buy (if ever)…
Cloth alone? Never realized this was a viable option! I love the one in the photo. Any recs for good cloth shower curtains??
[...] Who knew that a short, two sentence post about switching from a plastic/vinyl shower curtain to cloth would generate so many [...]
When we built this house, I was pretty adamant about putting a shower door on our shower. I’ve just never liked the curtain effect, for some reason, but do appreciate the shout-out for cloth as opposed to plastic (which always smelled odd to me the times I’ve taken a shower in a plastic-curtain shower).
On the other hand, our upstairs bathroom doesn’t even have a door yet (!), so I have a cloth shower curtain up for the door. See? I’m sustainable!
Ha! I have a cotton shower curtain that I just washed today. And a plastic liner that I think I got at IKEA that doesn’t have all the toxic PVC stuff in it. At least, I think that’s true. Does that sound right to you? I know IKEA’s mattresses come sans all the chemical crap that gets sprayed on to conventional mattresses.
I’ve used fabric shower curtains for several years now. I like the way the ones I’ve found look and certainly I’m satisfied that I don’t have to worry about a PVC issue as I would with the plastic varieties.
I’ll admit this is one issue I’m grappling with still. I have grave concerns about mildew here in NZ. If don’t keep an eagle eye on the shoes in my closet, they will mildew. I’ve had to ditch a few pair over the years that I couldn’t salvage after that happening. I need to scrub the walls of our bedroom free of mold. AGAIN.
In the winter-our rainy season- we have no way to heat the whole house and couldn’t afford to do it even if we could. Last night we had the heat pump going full blast for hours and only managed to get the living room up to 59 degrees F. This is why I wear a coat inside all the time. Sigh.
I bought a “double” shower curtain rod, the inner curtain is a “fabric” shower curtain, the outer curtain matches the curtains on the 2 windows in my bathroom. The fabric shower curtain washes beautifully, although I do have to iron it when I wash it.
[...] a fabric shower curtain instead of a plastic [...]