Toilet paper with a lower environmental impact is becoming increasingly popular, but isn’t it disgusting? Will this take food away from the panda? We have found the answer you are looking for.
Toilet paper, as a product we use every day, is not high on our list of things to consider. But are we missing an opportunity to be kind to the environment? Can our toilet paper really make a difference? Would it be like sandpaper if it were made from a more resilient material than trees, rather than soft trees created with tons of water, heat and energy? To find out, we spoke to Dr. Elissa Foster, head of sustainability at toilet paper maker Who Gives A Crap.
Certainly. Most of us don’t think much about what toilet paper is typically made from, but most of the toilet paper on the market is made from trees. They are shredded, shredded, turned into paper towels and flushed straight down the toilet. As Who Gives A Crap and many other brands have shown, other materials such as bamboo or recycled fibers are used to make toilet paper. Relying on these other types of fibers is a more efficient use of resources than using trees and cutting them down just to flush them down the toilet.
We conducted a study to find out how many trees are cut down each year to provide toilet paper to users around the world and found that more than 1 million trees are cut down every day. The trees come from plantations (planted monocultures – often fast-growing introduced pine species) and native forests. Some areas may have been traditional old-growth forest before being converted to plantations.
Trees and forests are the lungs of the earth, and they literally help us absorb carbon from the atmosphere. As a society, we want to do everything we can to keep the remaining forests intact. We are cutting down more and more forests, which provide us with amazing services, including sequestering carbon from the atmosphere that we emit through industrial activity and transportation. They are also home to a wide variety of plant and animal species that help filter water and keep our water sources clean and pure.
Trees have very important uses and these uses can come from plantations. But they are better used for things that absolutely must be made from trees, rather than toilet paper, which can be made from other alternative sources such as bamboo and recycled fibers. Since this is a disposable product, flush it directly down the toilet.
No, transporting paper from one place to another is nothing more than cutting down trees. Most consumer products produce a significant amount of carbon emissions during the product life cycle and the product manufacturing process, and toilet paper is no exception. The majority of the carbon emissions generated by our business come from product manufacturing, with emissions from transportation making up only a small portion of our overall carbon footprint. It makes sense for us to find the ideal materials and the best manufacturing partners so that the production process can be as efficient as possible and reduce our carbon footprint.
All our bamboo comes from FSC certified forests, meaning we can trace where the bamboo comes from back into the forest. Having this certification is a strong guarantee that the bamboo actually comes from an area that has not caused any deforestation or harm to wildlife in the area.
In addition, bamboo is a very fast-growing grass. Because it grows so quickly, it doesn’t require much land to grow the amount of bamboo you need. It is processed in the same way as wood fiber, but because it grows quickly, it can be harvested faster and use less land.
Toilet paper is not brown, does not itch, and is impossible to run your fingers through. Our toilet paper is white, soft and durable. Our papers, both recycled and bamboo, really live up to expectations, work great and look really nice.
It is biodegradable. He will fall into the toilet. That’s why there’s a huge opportunity to focus on the materials that toilet paper is made from, which is a key part of its sustainability. Since this is a biodegradable, single-use product, there is no real sustainability story at the end of its life. You can focus on what it’s made of so we can take the stress off and keep cutting down those trees.
Our demand for toilet paper will only increase (as the population continues to grow). A concerted effort to stay away from trees now can really help save them.
Who Gives A Crap donates 50% of profits to non-profit organizations dedicated to clean water and sanitation. Buy 100% recycled toilet paper or bamboo toilet paper.
Post time: Jun-04-2024