Q-tips come in such nice soft colors until you remember that they are plastic then this does not matter. Would it not be great if their impact on the environment was just as nice? Our Q-tips are attached to a bamboo stick. You can dispose the used Q-tip with your trash and it will not still be there frustrating your soil years later. With so many uses for bamboo, maybe this is the incentive the country needs to plant more of those trees. Instead of the usual plastic packaging, ours come neatly packed in a jar that you can reuse for other purposes around the home.