Swedish Dishcloth // Okapi Conservation

Made from 70% cellulose and 30% cotton, Swedish dishcloths are a reusable, eco-friendly alternative to paper towels and sponges alike. They're incredibly absorbent (they can hold 20x their weight in liquid!), but they dry super fast so bacteria doesn't have time to grow, smell, and spread like on traditional plastic sponges. Plus, they're machine washable and will last 9+ months with regular use, but when they do reach the end of their life, they're fully backyard compostable.

Put simply, if paper towels and plastic sponges had a baby, this would be it.

💡 Learn more about Swedish dishcloths and why we absolutely ~adore~ them over on the blog!

5% of each limited-release Okapi Swedish Dishcloth will be donated to Okapi Conservation Project.

Swedish Dishcloth Quick Details:

• 5% of each Okapi Conservation Swedish Dishcloth sold is donated to Okapi Conservation Project
• Reusable, washable, super-absorbent spongy cloth
• Replaces 17 rolls of paper towels
• Washable and reusable for 9+ months
• Infinitely more sanitary than sponges
• Locally printed-to-order with water-based inks
• 100% plastic free, vegan, and cruelty-free

✨ Don't forget to grab a few of our limited-release Okapi Conservation Hand + Body Wash Soap Bars, too!

October 18th is World Okapi Day and we're celebrating with a very special limited release Swedish dishcloth developed in partnership with the Okapi Conservation Project.

Native to the dense forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo, okapi are the awkward, adorable, gentle cousins of the giraffe, and they're currently classified as "endangered" by the IUCN Red List.

Okapi Conservation Project works closely with the local communities throughout the Ituri Forest in DRC to protect and preserve okapi and all of the other species that call this region home.

We are proud to be partnering with OCP in October to bring awareness to the okapi and support the important work they are doing.

Each print was designed in Portland, Oregon by Otter and Ink Designs, who receives a commission for each cloth sold.

And if you want to learn more about the okapi and why they're our founder Krystina's favorite animal, check out our full blog post on what okapi are and how we can protect them.

Dimensions

Each Swedish dishcloth is approximately 6.75" x 7.5"

Material

70% cellulose, 30% cotton, water-based ink

To Use

Just like a sponge, wet your Swedish dishcloth, wring out excess water, and get down to cleaning. Check out 12 of my favorite ways to use a Swedish dishcloth over on the blog, too!

Care

Wash your Swedish dishcloths with the rest of your laundry and hang dry. We prefer to lay them flat to dry or hang with clothespins so they dry flat. Or, pop your dishcloths in the dishwasher on the top rack for a quick wash and sanitize.

Packaging + End of Life

These Swedish dishcloths will either be completely unpackaged or wrapped in reused kraft paper. The kraft paper can be reused or curbside recycled. At the end of their life, cut up your Swedish dishcloths and toss in your backyard compost.

Origin

Printed locally in Seattle, Washington. Get to know the face behind this product: Potluck Press.

Ethical Guarantees

Made in USA
Vegan
Washington-Local
Woman-Owned

🌎 You care about the planet. So do we.

Look. I get it. It’s HARD to be an EcoWarrior. Someone who cares about the planet and wants the most sustainable products available - from the ingredients to the packaging to the way that product gets to your hands.

It seems like everywhere we turn, someone, somewhere, is greenwashing us.

But our superpower at A Drop in the Ocean is sorting through the BS, calling it out, and making sure our products are the absolute most sustainable and truly zero waste products we can find.

So on top of all the things we mentioned above about what makes our reusable Swedish dishcloths so sustainable, here’s a few other things you should know:

• We’re actually practicing what we preach behind the scenes. In 2022, we saved all of our trash for four months, and wrote a whole blog post on it. The tl;dr version is this: in four months, we only produced two pounds of trash. Everything from the packaging our products come in down to the Sharpie we use to write “Fragile” on your box is zero waste to its core.
• We’re an online-only zero waste store - which is highly intentional. It may seem counter-intuitive, but online shopping is actually more sustainable than in-person. I’m a data nerd at heart and I love diving into the research, and there are countless studies that have shown that online shopping is the most sustainable way to get your everyday essentials. Don’t believe me? Check out our whole blog post on the sustainability of online shopping.
• We ship ugly boxes. Your order from A Drop in the Ocean is not going to arrive in a pretty, branded box. It’s gonna show up in a reused tea box, or a donated Amazon box, or maybe even an inside-out Girl Scout Cookies box. All of our shipping materials are always 100% plastic-free and reused as much as possible, with curbside-recyclable paper tape and a post-consumer recycled paper shipping label. It won’t be pretty, but it will be zero waste.

Got more questions about our zero waste products or our practices behind the scenes? Just send us an email! I’m always happy to chat all things eco.