CHAPTER ONE
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Background of the Study
Each area of the body surface acquires a characteristic flora of organisms well adapted to growth at that specified environment. This resident indigenous micro biota tends to suppress the intruders by competition for space and food supply or by the production of metabolites that are antagonistic to the survival of the intruder. These intruders could the dislodged from their environment when sneezing, coughing, belching, or yawning. Handkerchiefs are often used for wiping face, closing of the mouth or nose during the expression of reflex activities thereby constituting an abode for microorganisms.
A newspaper article describing a previous Life cycle analysis (LCA) on handkerchief versus tissue use (Black burn, 2009) found that handkerchiefs were environmentally superior, but the study did not define a use based functional unit and also assumed an exceptionally long life of the handkerchief (520 washes) compared to previously published LCAs on textile products (50 washes) (Laursen et al., 2007; Collins and Aumonier, 2002)
