Throwing in the towel? Pretty fairtrade tea towels for spring style

Tea towels get awfully manky, don't they? I'm going to have to put some of mine out of service shortly, but in the meantime these pretty, printed, fairtrade-certified towels from the Guardian Eco Store have caught my eye; a bargain at £3.50 a pack.

But of course, I am not suggesting you throw your decomissioned tea towel in the bin: old fabrics can be dyed and re-used outside the sanctity of the kitchen, either to clean up bathrooms or other non-food related places, or to be turned into a new creation altogether. There's a fun pattern here for and 'ugly doll' made out of old tea towels.