March 28th, 2008 - Review of BuyGreen.com
Last month, Fake Plastic Fish talked about BuyGreen.com, which she recommended for it’s natural sponges, such as a loofah kitchen sponge. I’ve been wanting to try some natural sponges, and there was a discount for buying in Feb, so I got
- solar hybrid flashlight
- European sponge cloth
- loofah sponges
- Euro sponge
- Naked sponge
- solar light for a shed
The solar flashlight appears to work fine. But I haven’t tested the time it’ll stay on with a full charge. Nor can I test if it will still work after 2 years. I intend to put it in the tornado kit in the basement. It’s been charging on the kitchen table meanwhile.
I’m mixed on the sponges. Yes, some of them came in just cardboard packaging, as FPF had said. Unfortunately, not all of Twist’s sponges come w/o plastic packaging. The Euro and the sponge clothes were in plastic bags (unreusable). I know why: They dry out and become really stiff once outside the package. The sponge cloth is said to be a replacement for paper towels, so I was expecting something you could put out on the counter and simply grab to use. Instead, I have three pieces of cardboard consistency; they have to be wet to be usable. I cracked one seeing how flexible it was (not). I think the Euro stays flexible, however, so I don’t know why it was in plastic. (I might be wrong–I’m trying to remember and can’t.) The pictures at the website do not include the plastic packaging.
The others, however, stay flexible. I’ve been using the loofah sponge regularly in the kitchen now. It doesn’t scratch non-stick surfaces. I’m not sure it will last as long as our fake 3M sponges, and it’s more expensive than they are. But I can compost it when done. So I’m still happy. I also have one for cleaning the litter boxes. The naked sponge is just like the loofah one, w/o the loofah.
We intend to install the shed light once spring arrives, which should be sometime in May. I should probably test it out, in case it broke in transport. Which reminds me–it wasn’t sent by BuyGreen.com, which doesn’t use plastic in shipping. It was sent by a reseller (the product is from, sigh, China) which wrapped it in bubble wrap and then placed it in a box just barely large enough for it. I’m not sure why the bubble wrap was necessary. There’s no electricity in the garage addition. There is an outlet in the garage, about 10+ feet away from the addition door, another 6 from the addition’s exterior door. I love the idea of a solar light in there. Given that it’s made in China, I’m not terribly convinced of its construction, but I’ll give it a try. It won’t be heavily used anyway.