Because cloth hankies have been 'off our radar' for such a long time, some people have qualms about using them. Our first reaction is "yukks!".

But hang on a minute. What do we (usually mothers) do when our kids clean their snotty noses on their sleeves or ours, or worse – puke all over our pristine new blouse?

We do not throw those clothes away. We put them in the wash and use them again. Why not treat hankies likewise?

Yes, there was a time when people had to boil their hankies. Snot soup? No thanks! Little wonder therefore that paper tissues were considered a godsend. Ah! But we can now do hot washes in washing machines. The hankies sold here can be washed in your normal laundry.

If they are exceptionally snotty, soak them for a few minutes and rinse them out. When I have a cold, I collect a batch of these before soaking them together to save water. If, like me, you suffer from an occasional nose bleed, again rinse out in COLD water before putting in your normal wash.

But boys are not going to use ladies’ handkerchiefs for ever. While trying to track down boys’ size handkerchiefs on the Internet, she learned how harmful non-organic cotton is to the environment. So she was thrilled to find a source of organic cotton hankies in Canada. All the products on this page come from Hankettes, ‘a co-op acreage in the village of Roberts Creek’ in Canada.

The best thing about these handkerchiefs is: my son loves them. He calls them the ‘fluffy hankies’. They do become much softer after a couple of washes.