Best paper towels for your money

Plain Jane Bounty scores the highest in Consumer Reports paper towel research. Photo via Bounty website.

Buying paper towels is much like pouring money down the drain. You use ‘em to clean up messes, often use more than necessary and they’re quickly consumable. Consumer Reports just came out with a recent list to help consumers get the biggest bang for their paper towel buck.

For price conscious consumers who want to stay green, you’re in a tough spot. ‘Green’ paper towels cost a lot more, sometimes as much as 4X the amount of store brand paper towels and performed poorly on Consumer Reports efficiency, strength and absorbency tests. To top off the bad news, ‘green’ paper towels remain unregulated. Consumers are left to the mercy of the manufacturer to determine how ‘green’ the paper towel really is.

According to a Consumer Reports press release, the top three brands for 2011, ranked for quality and performance, are:

1) Bounty Regular (not Bounty Basic, the Basic sub-type actually ranked fairly low)

2) Bounty Soft

3) Target Up & Up (our favorite)

Other worthy contenders were Walmart’s Great Value paper towel and Costco’s Kirkland brand.