Now, don't laugh. Men in the bush working coconuts or lobster traps were never caught unprepared. No, they did not carry newspapers with them but pulled off the cloth-like material surrounding the coconut trees just below the palms. This tissue was tough, but made soft and pliable by crumbling it. The point is that when you have never had something, you don't or can't miss it.
People learn to utilize simple things when they have to.
And people used to dry the skin of a certain ray and used it as sandpaper. Pumblestone found on the beaches was used to clean dirty frying pans. And yes, I have used my sister's and mom's discarded clothing as towels. Yes, indeed 25 years ago was all about improvisation and substitutes. When the coconut peeling iron was not available, the machete did the job very well or a wood stake did.