Nigel Hill's Profile

I don't see how they could anything BUT used for formal occasions. Utilitarian? Honestly, what purpose have they? They hold a napkin in a roll. Why is that desirable or necessary? You have to roll them and then people just unroll them to put them in their lap or wipe their hands and face on. It's largely pointless from a utility perspective. It's a flat piece of cloth or paper and can just be placed on the plate or table. Is the point that they take up a lot of space when flat? First world problems. Seems pretentious.

So, formal? It's decorative and fleeting. My vote is if they are used at all they should only be for formal settings. But I really feel they are a complete waste of time and money.

Actually you can re-use zip ties; you just need a something thin like one side of a thin pair of tweezers or one blade of a pair of nail scissors to slip between the locking bit and the ridges and you can slide them undone, then re-use them.

But, given that they are usually extremely cheap for a pack of 50 or more, it's a little wasteful but not expensive to use them.

Twisty ties are great though. I use them too. :)