Green vs germs?

I have, for a while, seen commercials comparing the benefits of using reusable sponges vs paper towels. That sponges can be used over and over, and therefore more environmentally friendly. Yes, I am aware that every commercial is biased towards the advertiser's product. But it does seem logical to me. Except I worry about the sponge being clean. So throw it in the dishwasher I hear. Antimicrobial, I hear. Okay, I'm convinced...but I still can't eat my sandwich off a sponge. So I buy pick-a-size paper towels.

So now I'm seeing adds for disposable bathroom hand towels. Why use the same hand towel over and over, if you can have a fresh clean one every time? So I'm using less paper towels in the kitchen so I can use them in the bathroom?

I realize that these products are being market to two different groups. Sponges for the environmentalist, perhaps even frugal types, and the clean bathroom hand towel towards the germaphobic, obsessive compulsive types or clean freaks. I am none of this, mostly. I am not as environmentally aware as I should be, nor am I constantly worried about germs (they're everywhere no matter how much you spend to eradicate them). But I find this contradiction somewhat annoying. That annoyance is piqued every time I see the hand towel commercial. But since I am not the target audience for either of these products, nobody really cares about what I think.