I'd love to use a cloth handkerchief, but they're just too rough on my nose.  So far, the only tissues I've found that help are the Puffs Plus with lotion in them.  If I use anything else, within a few uses my nose is red and raw-feeling; if i have to use them longer, my nose literally gets raw (it's very uncomfortable).

Unfortunately I have yet to find a washable hankie that has a smooth enough weave to be kind to my nose (silk isn't all that washable).

I buy Green Forest! completely satisfied.

I was also going to add Green Forest, which we buy by the case through a natural foods wholesaler.  Since you didn't include it, here are the stats:  100% recycled (40% min post-consumer content, so lower than 7th Gen), whitened without chlorine, hypo-allergenic, unscented.  For the 175-count box we pay $1.97 when not on sale, but that's by the case; not sure what they sell for retail.  The tissues subjectively seem reasonably soft and durable.

We use Marcal's Sunrise (which is now changing names and I can't remember the new one) toilet paper, and it is actually not too bad on the nose if you need it in a pinch.  I've always had a hard time finding tissues as I was loyal to Puffs most of my life due to chronic allergies as a kid and hated having a red cracked nose.  Now I get by on a hankie and Kleenex when needed.  

I've gotten flannel cotton hankies from Hankettes.  You can find them on-line.  They're very soft, especially after a couple washings.  I think even those with very sensitive noses would be pleased.  

...but what if you have a cold? I had a cold last week and blew my nose probably about 150 times. That's a lot of cloth hankies to buy and launder.

I have chronic allergies and go through hankies like nobody's business.  (They really don't want to know, anyway).  My solution?  A "lot of 40 vintage hankies" on eBay.  They are beautifully embroidered so I always feel fancy using them.  There are a few rough ones in the bunch, but most of them are A-OK.  Having 40 means there is always one in my coat pocket or messenger bag.  On the weekends I do a "hankie round-up" to make sure they all get washed.  

Try making them from the fabric called bubble gauze. It's not extremely durable but it's cheap and a yard will make a whole lot of hankies. It's incredibly soft.

As Miss Manners wrote, you should always carry a handkerchief.  You might have the occasion to weep, and while weeping into linen is high drama, weeping into a kleenex is disgusting.

too bad there wasn't more info on good ole hankies.  I have some organic cotton ones and recently purchased some that have bamboo content.  They are both incredibly soft and worth the investment.  They last for years.  I have been using hankies for almost 20 years and I love them.

I've been using hankies for about a year now, and in my experience they're way better than tissues - better for your precious nose skin. New ones are rough when you buy them, but if you just throw them in the wash with your clothes for a few weeks, they soften right up. I've found great, pre-softened ones at thrift shops, and I've never tried e-bay, but it sounds like a great idea. One of my favorite things about the hanky is that they're stylish - they come in lots of colors and if you wear them in your back pocket, they stick out a little bit and it looks cool. Way cooler than nasty tissues!