Are Reusable Q Tips As Weird As They Sound?

According to the Guardian, producing one kilogram of cotton in India consumes 22,500 litres of water on average. That's almost 6000 gallons. For two and a half pounds of cotton, two and a half pounds of cotton. Are you reading my notes? No, I was just seeing the math. Americans will use anything with the metric system. Yeah, right. But you do that in your head. Wow. Well, I know that a kilogram is two and a half pounds. That's all I know. What Okay, that's crazy. So it's okay. Yeah, two and a half pounds. That's like what two T shirts 6000 gallons of water. She so this amount of water would more than meet the daily needs of 85% of India's population for a year. And in India, 100 million people don't have access to safe water. So today, we're talking about cotton swabs, or the reusable option, and cotton pads, cotton rounds, whatever you want to call them. So with that, welcome to greening up my act. That was a devastating opening statistic. I am so sorry. Oh my god, I'm like looking at the cotton t shirt. I'm wearing. Like Schindler's List, I could have saved a movie. I mean, it's just such a crazy, crazy number. What if we think of cotton as being like, so good. You know, now? I know it will do we? I mean, it's sort of debated. Yeah. Organic cotton for sure. But organic uses the same amount of water. It's just water. I mean, plants. I'm sure if we looked at anything, plants use water. They just use Well, yeah, exactly. To make something that you're just gonna throw away. Yeah, like a cotton ball. Yeah. Yeah. Yep. Cotton swabs. And you'll also probably be a little bit sad at the number of cotton swabs they get way. Okay. Well, Mary after day of Christmas, yes, this is we're gonna run on the day after Christmas. Oh, God, here's your Christmas pose Boxing Day. Back to the real world people it's getting I was, you know, introduce ourselves. Yes. sighs Greetings, my act. Okay. This is bringing up my act. And I'm Kat. And I'm Tiffany. And we are two marketing writers who work to study green eco, quote, unquote, eco friendly, sustainable products and debunk them if they need debunking or find out if they actually work. Yeah, because we know marketing fluff and green Hui, and we can see through it with our laser marketing vision, and figure out what's real and what's not. And we're also learning science along the way are learning science. And the metric system. It's like my toddler, she loves to say I did science today. She's so excited. It's so that's awesome. Yeah, we were doing science today. And yeah, and we also like to look at, like the cost of things. So a lot of these sustainable quote unquote, sustainable products are extremely expensive, and, or they don't work at all, or they don't work better than the, you know, the unsustainable counterpart or whatever. So we look at sort of the holistic picture so you can figure out what actually fits into your life. And so we can figure out what fits in our life to that's the main goal. That's actually we just record this for ourselves yet. Totally. No, that's not true. But yeah, you're trying to do the research that you don't have time to do and compacted into a 45 minute micro bite? Yes. And we try to make it kind of entertaining, but it's up for debate. Yeah, you know, that's not our opinion to behead. Alright, so let me talk about my sources really quickly. Okay. I looked at the company last objects website. It's a funny name, but that's the objects object. Okay. Oh, like the last one you'll ever own? I think oh, I think that's what they're going for. Okay. They were the source there at the company that I looked at for this episode. The Guardian talks about cotton water usage. NIH talks about using cotton swabs so that's gonna be fun. No, no stick. Truly, though, because also, UNC Health article In one of their articles a call, it's called put the cotton swab down. No, no, no sticks. No no. Tilted map, who were friends with on Facebook on Facebook? Instagram, same thing. Yeah, getting Katie's her name. She's got awesome reviews of stuff. And on her website and so she reviewed last object as a, she reviewed onto the products. It was really helpful. And then there was a materials today study on polypropylene, which we'll talk about a little bit. It's a type of plastic. And plant ish is a website that talks about the wastefulness of cotton. And going zero waste has a blog on homemade cotton round. And then the Harvard Law School forum on corporate governance, corporate governance, they have an article on the reliability of a company's carbon foot. Oh, I feel like this is going to be very far reaching then. A little bit. I'm not going to I'm not going to off topic. But yeah, I wanted to throw that in there because I was like, fresh and aging. I was interested. I'm into it. Okay, so here we go. So what is it? Have you ever seen or even thought of a reuse reusable cotton swab? I use? No. for Q tips. Oh, we have to like do. Okay, so for cotton rounds? Yes. But for Q tips. No. Yeah, it's kind of a funky idea. So last objects is called the last swab growth. And I hate the word swab. It's just it's like, it brings up like getting your strep throat test. You know, when they stab you in the back of your throat. You don't like to like to be swamped. Yeah, so it's basically this last swab is a replacement for it. These single use swabs. That, sir, I'm gonna say that were the dex Metis. Okay, swab away. So for the ones that use cotton, so they're trying to replace those. And last object, the company that I'm talking about the estimate that there are five hunt, just hold your britches, five 150 billion cotton swabs thrown out every that's almost as almost one per person on the planet. Okay, not almost how many people aren't? No, wait. Yeah, the one we know, usually 550,000,000,550. Okay, so, okay. Which might even be? How are they using these all over the world? Oh, that's just American? I don't know. I don't know. Anyway, that's what they estimated. And I'm like, holy bejesus, that is actually saying, um, okay, so I use I use when almost every time I shower, I can't lie. Well, that's the thing. They're pretty ubiquitous, at least in the United States. I'm curious if other countries if anybody's out there from God knows anywhere else besides the United States? Yeah. Let me know. Do you use these things? Is this a wasted episode for you? Right? Well, and we have to, I'm sure you'll talk about what we use them for. Because that's also important. Yes. Get into that for sure. So last object is actually a Dutch company. And they launched on Kickstarter. And it's kind of a cool story, because what they said on our website was it. It basically didn't seem like it was like Kickstarter was a success, but then it didn't seem like they could turn it into a company, but then they launched it anyway. And they're pretty successful. So you know, the Dutch they like to go for sustainability, for sure. And so this thing, this last swab looks like a regular cotton swab, but instead of cotton on the two ends, it's a soft, bumpy bit. Basically, he's got two ends, it still has two ends. One is a little bit more cone like and then one is bumpy, and not super soft, because it's made of a type of like soft bank. Almost like a rubber I imagine. Okay, but yeah, it's bumpy, and then you use it like a cotton swab. Okay, and then you wash it off with Wow, okay, so it's not like because I was like, Tito in the washing machine. What do you do? I know you can and actually, I think they say that that's more sustainable to your like dishwasher or something. Something that's already going so you're not like, using all this water to wash this one stupid little thing off? Yeah. But I just found it really interesting. I was like, I would never think to use this thing. It comes with a carrying case. And the carrying case is also made of plastic, but I'll get into the type of plastic that they use. Or you can just order the refill. So if it breaks, you can just order a refill. And you can just order that the first time. So you don't even actually need the case. Okay, in my opinion, but that's up to you. Okay. The case, and actually, the whole thing won a design award. So it's like, really well thought out. I'm fascinated. I know, I know, we'll put we'll try to post pictures on Instagram, because it is, it's a cool product. And it's really cool idea. So they have want three different kinds, one for yours, because that's what everyone uses it for, even though we clean our ears out with cotton swabs. And then they have one for makeup and then one for that's supposed to be used for babies, which is strange, but we'll get into that a little bit more. Okay, so the last swab is made of fiberglass and soft thermoplastic material, which is the two tips and polypropylene. So according to last objects website, polypropylene is a plastic that requires much less energy to manufacture and produces the lowest carbon dioxide emissions compared to other types of plastic. I was like, really? I mean, I'm always skeptical of these things. So I looked it up. And what I read in the study that I mentioned, I mentioned this. Oh, yes, yes, yes. Yes. Materials today. Yeah, the materials today study. So they said, polypropylene is better than other types of plastics in terms of global warming potential, at least when it's used in packaging, but they looked at all this stuff. And I didn't honestly have time to look at the entire study, but I'm linking it if you want to. But it's still plastic. And it's still made from petrochemicals. Okay, is that recyclable? The swab is not recyclable. The at least maybe? I'm not totally, I mean, we know how the case I think is but you have to recycle it with rigid plastics. And at least in my area, that's not a curbside. Okay, you have to take it and i don't i tout everywhere accepts these but you can like in my area, you can take rigid plastics, like laundry baskets or whatever to the landfill recycling center. And they collect them there. But I don't think you can just throw them in your bin. So yeah, it's like an extra step and plus plastics recycling. Is it damn jokes? Yeah. As we know. It's not the least funny joke on Earth. But so does the last swab work. Apparently, yes. Reviews are good. For the last swab. The original one this is for the non makeup version. And Katie from Tilton map, liked it in her review, she like actually used it tried it, she liked it. No. They can last for over five years. Oh, okay. 1000 uses or more, depending on how hard you're digging out your ears, I don't know. And the baby version and then. So the makeup version was less impressive to caddy at tilted map. She didn't think it worked as well. Okay. But I think that maybe is like experiment. You know, you could experiment with it, but she just didn't seem like it didn't seem like it worked for makeup that well. So however, so it works for what it's meant for. But here's where the NIH comes in. So you don't need them. Okay, and this is going to be hard even for me, but I think I'm going to try to not use them anymore. So NIH says earwax is supposed to be in your ears. It has a mission to keep your ears healthy by trapping dust and dirt so they don't so that those things don't travel deeper into your ear. Right. Having a waxy coating on your delicate ear canal skin also helps protect it. So they say that your body naturally pushes old earwax out and that using cotton swabs can push the wax deeper into your ear canal and you can also seriously damage sensitive ear canal skin or your eardrum which is something I've heard before for sure. Yeah. In the UNC Health article, put the cotton swab down UNC Health audiologist Patricia Johnson, Patricia Patricia. Patricia Johnson. Why is that ha so hard? Says the ear actually has its own self cleaning system. We have this misunderstanding that wax is a hygiene problem, but your wax is magical. Earwax is secreted from glands in the skin lubricates the ear and like a conveyor belt, the wax captures dirt and bacteria from the entrance of your ear canal and slides out on its own. Okay, so interesting. Yeah, I never knew this. Um, so we don't need these things. And so that's kind of where I ran into some mixed feelings. Okay. Yeah, about the last swab. Right. But it's mixed, because so many people, at least in the US still use disposable ones. Right. So let's get back into how easy is this to use? We like for all of our products, we like to ask kind of the same questions. It's easy, it's apparently as easy as using a regular cotton swab, aside from cleaning it, so there is an extra step. Okay. And how much does it cost? So that's the big question. You want to you want to take a guess? Well, how much could a cost? It's a banana. I don't know. $7. Okay. 12. Okay. And this is make sense. For one. Yeah, for one with a case. Okay, this is for all variations of the last swab. So all three of those, they supposedly replace 1000 cotton swabs. Amazon Basic cotton swabs cost $2.72 for 500. So the cost is not really adding up, because it's four times five bucks. 1000. So it's a difference of about $7. But you can get the refill, just the refill last swab for $6.50. Okay, I would say just do that if you're interested in this product. Yeah. Because, I mean, where are you gonna store it? I guess you store it in your next or toothbrush? I don't know. I don't know. I mean, yeah, I would just put it in a little jar and stand it up. Right. Yeah, I'm guessing that the case gets pretty disgusting. I don't know. I would hope you would clean out before you put it in. But yeah, I'm just covering wax, just goopy. So that's what I found for last swab. And then we're going to talk more about is it eco friendly after I talked about last round. Okay, so another product from the same company. So last round. And I'm kind of gonna gloss over this one. Like it's not I'm not going into as much detail but okay, it is a replacement for disposable cotton pads and a cotton pad is like you use them for taking off makeup. For example, like you've might put makeup remover on them or nail polish remover or what? Nail Polish Yes, nail polish. Yeah, we're gonna talk about that too. Yeah, they're just sort of like these things that you can use for one purpose and throw them in the trash. That's a great idea because we know cotton's not great. So these disposable pads you can there they kind of come dehydrated if that makes sense. But you can wet them and they turn really soft. Oh, okay. And then you use it and wash it right away or put it in with a load of laundry. Okay, then when you air you let them air dry and then pop them back into their case. So it's got this like little case it's actually poppable they cost $16 For seven reusable rounds. Okay, plus a case and that is supposed to replace 17 150 or more disposable rounds. Okay, so you can also just buy the refill so you can avoid the case if you don't need a case. Okay. So compared to Amazon Basic, they have 100 rounds for $2.50 which is actually double the price of the reusable ones. Know if the if these rounds really do last them Many times, which I believe in, yeah. And the refills if you just get the refills, they're only nine bucks. So that's like way more affordable. Okay. Yeah. So I'm really intrigued about these. And so they're made of 30% cotton fibers which cannot be used for clothing and are therefore a surplus material. Okay, so they're kind of, okay. That's what they say on their website using stuff that would be wasted, supposedly, yes. Yes. So 30% Cotton, that would have otherwise gone to waste or been turned into something else, I guess. And 70 70% wood fiber. Okay, so wood fiber is another way to say viscose. Um, we talked about viscose in our first episode, I think, where we first review where we talked about unpaper towels, because yeah, bamboo fabric is made using this process. And it's turned into this thing called viscose. And it's basically just a way to make wood or bamboo into a material or a fabric. And generally speaking, like Patagonia actually bans viscose from its products, like they don't accept products, and they don't sell products with viscose. Because it is quite environmentally damaging to create. But it sounds like their process is a little bit more of a closed loop system than a lot of other viscose products. Because there is a way to sort of close the loop and not let all of the chemicals spill into the waterways that otherwise would, which is one of the big reasons viscose is a problem. Or, you know, you, you capture those chemicals and reuse them and all that stuff. So, it sounds like even though it is viscose, they're not as damaging. Yeah, yeah, I mean, it is still viscose, but yeah, it's not, I don't think as bad as, like the random Amazon bamboo and paper towels that I bought. They don't know they're not doing anything. So, okay, I was like, wondering about these sounds like, you know, like you said, the thing I wouldn't use them for is nail polish remover, first and foremost. And I would use them maybe for makeup once in a while. But I was like, the main ones are white. And I'm like, that would be like, how would that work? Like that would be such a pain in the ass. But get this. They make a black one. Uh huh. There it is. Yes. So you can use it to remove makeup and nail polish without worrying about getting all stained. That's smart. I don't know how the nail polish part works. But I guess it doesn't really matter. Wondering about that. Because acetone or maybe acetone free nail polish remover, because but then don't then, like would end up in your washing machine. Yeah, I don't know. I don't know. Yeah, it's kind of intriguing. I wonder about that. Yeah. So when you remove nail polish, do you just use cotton rounds? I do. Yeah. I use. I use cotton balls, which is same thing. But yeah. Yeah. So I'm intrigued. And I want to try them. But yeah, I didn't buy them ahead of time, because I was kind of skeptical. Yeah, that's fair. But because I don't I don't know. I want to buy stuff for the podcast to test it out. But I also don't want to just like buy a bunch of shit that I'm never going to use. So right and just create more consumerism. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. And plus caddy. And tilted map, like did such a good job reviewing it? I was like, Yeah, I'll just use hers. Yeah, yeah. So are these products actually eco friendly? Big Question. Yes, the company is a B Corp. Which means that in layman's terms, and I want to do a whole episode on this, because I don't know enough about B Corporations. But basically, it is a company that is held to a higher standard than a lot of other companies in terms of treatment of their workers in terms of sustainability, and like true environmental factors, and impact, and sourcing of materials and all of these things. So they actually are audited by an external. I don't know who audits them, but maybe B corp.com. I don't know. But they're audited. So people are actually checking to make sure that they are following through with their promises. So that is that is a good sign. Yeah. And like I said, they say that one last swab replaces 1000. Single use cotton, cotton swabs. And their mission is to eliminate single use items by creating reusable, sustainable and lovable alternatives. I love that. Yeah. So even though last swab, this is my difficulty, even the last swab is? Well, cotton swabs in general are not a good thing to use according to health professionals, and are unnecessary. So many of us use them that I like struggled to kind of come to terms with this product, because I was like, it can do a lot of good. Yeah. But it's not. Like if we could just teach people like don't forget, use these things, then yeah, maybe there's hope? I don't know. But because it would be better not to buy it. Not to buy any of it. Right. But to eliminate Yeah, if you're, if you're gung ho on using a cotton swab, then maybe this is better option. But they do also, one thing I really liked is that they partner with a nonprofit, and they remove one kilogram of coastal plastic waste for each order. Okay, so it's like a nonprofit that does that work for them. But they I think it's zero. Plastic oceans, I can't remember the name of the nonprofit, but every order they do that, so that I thought was really cool. The case is also made from recycled ocean bound plastic. What the hell's your like how you know that? So the vast majority of ocean plastic originates within this is a quote from their website. The vast majority of ocean plastic originates within 30 miles, or 50 kilometers of the planet's coastline. Okay, poor waste management within this 30 mile zone, causes approximately 8 million metric tons of plastic to end up in oceans. Well, ours, yeah, 8 million tonnes. Our supplier is the first company in the world to receive ocean bound plastics certification, which was developed by zero plastic oceans and audited by a control union. So if that tells you anything? Yeah, there's a lot of names in there. But yeah, I mean, it just sounds. It's just like, yeah, they're like actually trying to make the case from reused materials, not just recycled plastic, but like specific recycled plastic. So I do appreciate that. If you have to make something which again, you don't, because it's a swag that you don't need. But that's fine. Yeah. But if you're going to make something, it's like, at least they're making it from this kind of plastic. And then their packaging is plastic free. And it's made from either FSC certified cardboard, which FSC is like a type of forest certification, where it's, I don't know totally about it, but it's like, they're certified that the forests are run more sustainably, or Cradle to Cradle, which I also don't know, but they say that both organizations make high demands on a number of environmentally burdensome processes and are both best in class when it comes to sustainable packaging. Okay, so their packaging is just cardboard, so it's plastic free. Okay. So they say that they're swab is 8.3 times better for the environment. Okay, reduce reduces the carbon footprint by 83%. Which confused me. I'm going to talk a little bit about that. Yeah, I was gonna say, how do you because I'm like, what does that mean? Like, compared to what? Yeah, like, obviously, your entire carbon footprint isn't reduced by 83%? Because you're not using disposable swag. Yeah. Is that like, compared to like a single swab produced or? Right? The 1000 that you're supposed to use? Yeah. Yeah. So that was interesting. And, honestly, I think some of the market the marketing on the website, I'll get into it a little bit, but it's kind of over the top. Okay. And I also think it was probably written by non native English speakers. Okay. Yeah, so some of it I'm like, I think it's just not well explained. But the breakeven point for the swab which means the number of times you use it before you break even on your environmental impact, is 35 uses compared to a lot of things I It's actually pretty good. That is actually like you were talking about straws and things. Yeah, like, Canvas totes, I think were like 4000 or some shit. Yeah. But it depends a lot on how you wash it, right? Because that was a big thing. With all the reusable stuff we looked at is like, if you use hot water to wash it, you're basically wasting your time. So if you use hot water to wash this thing, you might be hurting, like, it might be much higher, your breaking point. Okay. But I do think they I mean, they look at all sorts of things. So it's a lifecycle assessment, which is something that is basically like all of these numbers, I had to find. They come from looking at 22 Different factors about environmental impact, and sort of like smooshing them all together and coming up with an average. And this is looked at by a third party. So it's not just them doing the math, they're actually like hiring somebody to look at these numbers and be like, Oh, that's right. So the interesting thing is, well, the last round is they say that it's 24 times better 24 times better for the environment when considering all of these 22 environmental impact categories. So that's pretty big claim, right? So I, because their environment, because their marketing is a little bit over the top, they have things like save money in the environment, which I'm like, we're not saving the environment. No. So over the top, I was kind of skeptical when I looked at their website because of that. They also said like, so far, our community has contributed to avoiding more than 3000 tons of carbon from entering our atmosphere. And I was like, how do you what I was just like, yeah, how can you claim that? Yeah, like, how does that? How Where's the Math? Because yeah, I'm so I actually Googled, and I did a really quick Google. So somebody else knows way more about this than I do. And we can totally look into it more. I was like, how do companies assess their carbon footprint? Like, right how to in the negative? Yes, right. Yeah, we prevented Exactly. And according to Harvard, as far as carbon footprint estimates go, lots of companies are doing this. But Harvard says there's a wide range of uncertainty in scope, three emissions measurements, which is a certain type of emissions to the point that the numbers can be absurdly off. Okay. Thinking, dang. So, we will look into that more at a later date. But just in the meantime, know that like, when companies are saying that their carbon footprint is blah, blah, blah, in the negative, especially, then kind of be a little bit skeptical? Yeah. So they also says, they say on their last swab, they have a deal for buy for get the fifth one free. And I'm like, isn't that the opposite of what you're trying to promote? Yeah, you're trying to use have one? Yeah, I'm like, maybe you're giving these as gifts, but kind of a strange gift to be honest. Yeah. I mean, I gave people menstrual cups. So what do I do? Well, that's fair. But yeah, I was like that. I don't love that. Because who needs more consumerism? Exactly. One for each purse? Yeah. I'm like, we're nobodies using this that often. So anyway, that was all made me a little bit concerned about the company. And so I emailed them, oh. Because especially because they have all of these claims. You know, the carbon footprint one was one thing, but the breakeven points and they had all these like, you know, references to their lifecycle assessments, but they didn't post them on their website. Oh, okay. And so I was like, What the hell, I want to see these things. And I want to make sure that your numbers are right. And they responded within one business day. That's quick. Okay. No, actually, it wasn't even a business. It was a weekend. Oh, my gosh, yeah. So they were very fast, which I super appreciated. And they even responded again, and I was like, hey, I want to see your lifecycle assessment. And they said, For what, and I said, your last swab would be great. They actually gave me access to their Google Drive for their lifestyle parking way. Yes. And these are not public. And they did they should be I think there's a reason I don't know why they did ask me not to use them for publication. So I don't know why it said something about non disclosure agreements on there. So I can't actually tell anybody on this podcast what they said. But you can get all that in and get it yourself. Like, they'll send it to you. So they're totally fine with their customers looking at them. And so I did a little scan. Okay, because I was like, I just wanted to know, if their numbers were accurate. And I just was, so I just I felt like I was in some like, secret. Yeah, I don't know, like some little spy and their Google Drive. But you're like, Yeah, I mean, they open the door, actually a journalist, journalists. There. Right, right. We're fake journalists. Yeah. But yeah, I mean, the numbers that they use on our website are accurate. For the most really? Yeah, I mean, they're like, pretty much spot on, I will say they did kind of conflate the top end. I'm not gonna say what, but it's like, there was an average of two numbers, and they use the top one. On one of the things, but it's not inaccurate. It's just, you know, it's accurate. It's just like, best case scenario, if that makes sense. Yeah. Okay. Wow. But yeah, I mean, the life I looked, and they were vetted by people that they assessment was looked at by a third party, I looked at the third party, and it seemed legitimate, so. Yeah, I mean, I think their their claims seem to be legit. So okay, that was really refreshing. And just the ease and speed with which they interacted with me. I was like, to him, I feel like that means that they're legitimately trying and that they are probably doing their best, and they're probably a pretty damn good company. Okay, that's refreshing. Yeah, that's what I think, even though maybe it's written by like, maybe it's because it's not a natural English speaker. So it's a little bit you know, the marketing's a little bit wonky sometimes, but yeah, I was like, really pleased. Yeah. So on to my granola rating. Okay. And I kind of want your take on this, too. Now. I'm like, sweating about my granola ratings, because I'm like, am I? I go to, like, am I wrong? It's something I felt about that. I'm like, did this did they do this wrong, but okay, it's here that these are up. Yes. I don't think we explained our granola rating. No, I don't think we did in this episode. Okay, so each granola rating each each granola rating. Good lord. Each episode, we have a granola rating, which is just our take on all the sum of all parts and how practical usable whatever good they are in cost effective. A normal Yes, in like a normal person's life. One is soggy, because you don't want your granola to be soggy. Gross. And five is break your tooth off, which is delicious. You obviously don't want teeth. So who wants to five is good, right? So I had two different things. One for the swab and one for the rounds. Okay, bad news first, so I'm between I'm gonna say like two and a half for the swab. Okay, which is sticky, and chewy? Two and a half because they aren't necessary. If they were something that like, oh, yeah, you gotta have soap, then I would make I would be a lot more lenient. Right. Although now that I say that the rounds aren't necessary, either. You I mean, you can use a washcloth god damn it anyway, because I gave that a for just because I was like, really impressed with this company. And so I said the rounds are crunchy, because they are significantly better than cotton rounds. Okay. But you're right, you don't need I mean, this is the thing, and maybe we should start because that Oh, that was my issue is that I gave I feel like I gave beauty counter a couple of weeks ago or makeup one a lower rating than I would have because like you don't need makeup. Right? We're talking about can you live? And that is the bottom line is can you live the lifestyle you live now and be sustainable about it? And the answer is no, we can't. We all have to make giant giant choices to change. Like we'd have to give up a lot of comfort. But if we're talking about replacing one thing with another, maybe that's how we should be writing things. Yeah, just kind of with this understanding that the best thing you can do to live more sustainably is to refuse to be a consumer. But if you're going to do it anyway, why not do it with this thing? Yes. Yeah. And I would say like, I exactly had that thinking. Because if you're going to use swabs, like, no matter what, Q tips, I could call them and instead of swabs, button straps, you're going to use Q tips anyway, like, Absolutely. This would be a crunchy. I would I would say, definitely get it like there's no, there's truly no reason not to that I can think of. No, just don't get the case. Because that's unnecessary. Like a dozen of them. For some reason. Don't get five. That's ridiculous. But yeah, so if we were thinking of it in that way, like, as a replacement object for something you're going to use anyway. Yeah, it's okay. Totally do it. And to be honest, I have moments where I, I like wake up sometimes. And I feel like my ears are like, moist to be yes. And it helps me be comfortable. Like they're kind of itchy. Like it helps me be comfortable to use a cotton swab. So after using your earphones, are you that's probably why because I fall asleep with my earphones. Oh my god, I'm not reading my natural conveyor belt works. Yes. My earbuds. Yeah. The it's like sweaty and there's Yeah, it's gross. Oh, my God. I'm like contaminating my ears. You should clean those two, by the way. But some people sleep with like I have friends that sleep with your plugs. All night. Yeah. I have multiple friends who do that. We should contact some audiologist all audiologists. Yeah, this lady that they interviewed your nose and throat people. Anyway, so yeah, I mean, if you're going to use these things, then yes. Get these. Okay. Absolutely. Both of them. So I'm like shopping for Christmas right now. I think actually, they would be really good gifts. The nine is the swab, but whatever. Yeah, the man I'm seeing. Got a I was like, somebody bought him a reusable Q tip for Christmas. And he never uses it. Oh, see? That's the problem. Yeah, it's hard to buy personal care products. Like people have bought me soap before. And I absolutely hate it because it smells really intense. And I smell a person. Yeah. So it's rough. Because it's like a really nice thought. But this Yeah. Wait, so he has once you just try it? I should I should I just really can't give it I think he used it once and then I didn't see him wash it. I don't know. He's very much a cute person, though. That's funny. So he's like, yeah, he's like a it's like eight month old your wax on? Delicious. He's very clean, though. So I can imagine. Yeah, something was it? I don't know. Sounds like you. I've read the instructions. Yeah, right. Well, or at least he would have cleaned up without the instructions. Right? Yeah, just sitting in a pool of alcohol right now. Yeah, I'm going to try not using it. But if I do find myself using cotton swabs again, I'm going to get one of these. I'm going to try not using them at all to see how many years do maybe it's all just psychosomatic is that it? Just yeah. Yeah, that's I dated an ER doctor for a while and they always say never stick anything bigger than your elbow into your elbow. You can't put an elbow in your ear. That's the joke. I was like should go in your air. Wait a minute, but you can use them to clean the outside to you know, yes. To get all the weekend drum. Yeah, exactly. So and the baby ones. No, just don't use those. That's absurd. Babies do not need their ears clean out like that. And this is true of adults too. I realize now but yeah, especially babies like yes, it has a little stopper. So you're not gonna stick it in too far. But like, just don't bother. Yeah, I mean, you'd use like a, again, a. I was gonna say a Kleenex, but you could use a, like a dry towel and just wipe out the outside of your ear too. Yeah, exactly. You don't have to get all of our business there. Yeah, but I do have real quick like, even better options. Oh, okay. Please stop using cotton swabs for eight years now. That is number one. But we've already talked about that. Get creative if you use them for like nails because sometimes I'll use a cotton swab for my nail to clean up. Yeah, yeah. But like, just get creative. Like maybe try a toothpick. You can also make your own rounds. If you're doing a round out of scrap fabric, which sounds like you have some I bought mine off Amazon. Oh, you did have a friend like five or six years ago. Okay, but you still have them? Yeah, yeah. And I there I'm pretty sure they're made from polyester. Oh, probably. Yeah, there's I'm gonna link Going zero waste their blog has a sort of a DIY instructions on homemade cotton rounds out of the fabric that you already have. So reuse out of wash call so yeah, I saw one that was like really cute. And I was like, Man, that would actually be really cute gift. So if you're really crafty, okay. Oh wait, it's after. Dammit. Christmas is over. You don't always give gifts for gift givers. There you go. Maybe a birthday January birthday. Well, maybe if you give them for Christmas to someone. You can take pictures. I'm recording this in November. Ain't nobody got down. Yeah, no, I'm gonna order them for sure. I'm not making them. Yeah. I mean, I think that's like the ideal, right? The ideal state but in reality, not everybody has hours to spend nor the sewing skills. Yeah, I'm okay on this. A sower. A sower. I've got my my sewing machine that I bought just sitting in its case. I haven't even cracked it since I bought it. Like yeah, it happens, man. I've only used mine a couple times. So that's that. I like it. Okay, good. Yeah, it was my ears edge. So. Yeah, no, I was like, super pleasantly surprised by the company itself. So yeah. Well, I did. I did found something. So the EU did ban single use plastics, including Q tips. Yes. I saw something about that, too. Yeah. Like way ahead of? Yeah. So that might I mean, I'm sure that but that's a futuristic version. Like there's so cotton and paper versions? Yeah. I'm assuming. Yeah. Cardboard. So yeah. But you know, that could be a solution to that to the United States would just get his shit together. And so many ways, in so many ways. Oh, yeah. Thank you. Yeah. Thank you. Awesome. I do feel enlightened. Oh, good. I am considering getting one. No, I'm like, nice, because I do have it. Yeah, I think it's worth it. Yeah. Christmas is coming. Yeah, exactly. Four, you can get four gifts with one free. Yeah. All right. For all my nephews. Stick this in your ear. Nice. All right. Well, if you can leave us a review. Yes. on Spotify or Apple podcasts or wherever you listen to us or YouTube. Yep, that would be amazing. And we love you guys. Yes. Also, what is next week? Next week was a trick question. It's a new year new you. Oh, no, no, I'm sorry. We're doing a bonus episode on green New Year's resolutions. Yeah, so I guess the bonus would probably come out. December 28. Okay, so this is in two days. Well, we'll take it out on a Thursday. That's our that's our own green New Year's resolutions. Yes, we're and then our last one of the season is New Year New you dry shampoo is the devil. We've only named it. We haven't recorded it yet. But we're going to talk about dry shampoo. Oh, I'm so excited. I love how we accidentally slash sort of plan to end on like the real kicker. Yeah. of the season. Yeah, I like that anticipation. Yes, man. Wait for it. I'm so pumped and scared. But hopefully I find that we're all not going to die. Yeah, dry shampoo is I mean, I use it all the time. But I'm gonna review Betty's test, which is the Brando's interesting. pumped. Yeah. And then we're going to take a break. But we still have a couple episodes before then. So Yeah. Plenty of time. Yeah. So let us know what you think of us in a review. We'd love it. Yes. Thank you so much. Thank you have a good night. Okay. Bye. Bye.