Last updated on December 1, 2024.
Toilet paper is one of those things that we all buy and use. But have you ever noticed that the vast majority of brands wrap it in plastic? We throw that plastic in the trash because it’s not recyclable. For years, my family used Quilted Northern (or other brands if they were on sale) and threw away the plastic packaging every week. Some, like the Charmin brand, have packs of 4 wrapped in plastic, and then 3 or 4 of those packs grouped and wrapped in plastic, again, to make a 12 or 16-pack. Plastic wrapped in plastic.
I’ve looked almost everywhere locally, and the majority of toilet paper is plastic-wrapped, sadly.
“It turns out that regular toilet paper—at 1.5 pounds of wood and thirty-seven gallons of water per roll—is surprisingly wasteful.” -Eve O. Schaub, author of Year Of No Garbage1
Plastic-Free Toilet Paper
I discovered a company called Who Gives a Crap, which makes toilet paper from recycled paper and bamboo, meaning they use no virgin paper and don’t cut down any trees to make their products. Their products are plastic-free and they don’t use inks, dyes, or scents. The company also gives back: “We donate 50% of our profits to ensure everyone has access to clean water and a toilet within our lifetime.”2 So plastic-free and toxin-free, and the company does good for the world? I don’t normally buy anything in bulk, but I had to give them a try.
As a result, we’ve been using this toilet paper exclusively since 2018. The company makes recycled toilet paper from “post-consumer waste paper (things like textbooks, workbooks, office paper, etc) and a small percentage (around 5%) of post-industrial paper.” Using recycled paper allows them to reduce their carbon dioxide and particulate matter emissions, and it also saves water. It is also free of BPA because they use recycled paper that is free from BPA.
Who Gives A Crap’s bamboo toilet paper is the one I prefer. Bamboo, a grass, is a sustainable option because it grows fast, is very renewable, and needs no irrigation or fertilization. Their bamboo is mainly grown in remote areas of Sichuan Province in China by farmers who plant bamboo on the outskirts of their family farms to supplement their income.
For extra fun, you can reuse the paper from the rolls to make gift-wrapping paper! Who Gives A Crap also offers blog posts about other crafts you can make with their paper wrappers.3
Who Gives A Crap’s Mission
When the founders discovered that 2.4 billion people don’t have access to a toilet and that contaminated water from lack of toilets contributes to over 1 million deaths per year, they wanted to do something about it. Here’s how they describe it:
“A toilet could make all the difference, but billions of people worldwide still live without one. Without a loo, waste ends up in local waterways – the same place people collect water for drinking, cleaning and bathing. That’s why toilets are an integral part of a bigger health initiative called WASH, which stands for water, sanitation and hygiene. Together, these three elements strengthen communities and save millions of lives.“4
This is a really great cause and one we don’t think of much in the U.S. We take toilet access for granted!
Affordability
Who Gives A Crap’s bamboo rolls cost $68 for 48 rolls, which equals about $1.42 per roll. Their recycled rolls are about $1.29 each. Their rolls are double length, so I’m comparing ‘mega” sized toilet paper rolls in the other brands:
- Great Value brand is $21.84 for 24 mega rolls, or $0.91 per roll
- Angel Soft 24 mega rolls at $15.46, or $0.64 per roll
- Quilted Northern $20.98 for 24 mega rolls, or $0.87 per roll
- Charmin 30 mega rolls $32.98, or $1.10 per roll
- Target brand 30 mega rolls for $20.49, or $0.68 per roll
So the average cost for Who Gives A Crap is slightly higher than regular store brands, but their products are forest friendly, plastic-free, toxic-free, delivered to my door, and half of the company’s profits go to help others across the globe!
UPDATE, June 13, 2024: Whole Foods recently started carrying Who Gives A Crap recycled toilet paper. It is sold in much smaller quantities than it is online, so it costs more per roll to buy it in person (4 rolls at $1.75 per or 8 rolls at $1.69 per). But, this is still a step in the right direction!
“Throwaway tissue products don’t have to destroy forests…tissue products made from 100 percent recycled content have one-third the carbon footprint of those made from 100 percent virgin forest fiber.” -filmmakers and authors, Laurie David and Heather Reisman5
Sustainable Toilet Paper
Many toilet paper brands are damaging to forests and the environment. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) issues an annual report rating toilet paper brands by sustainability called Issue with Tissue. They are rated with a grade between A-F. In 2023, Who Gives a Crap recycled toilet paper got an A, while Whole Foods’ 365 brand received an A+. Among the companies that received the worst rating, an F, were brands by ALDI, Target, Publix, and Wegmans.6
There are 4 rated A+, but all but one are packaged in plastic, which is also harmful to the environment. The exception, Natural Value, is packaged in paper but costs much more than Who Gives A Crap brand. So I’m going to stick with Who Gives A Crap for now. Unfortunately, I may have to switch from their bamboo toilet paper to their recycled toilet paper, since the former only received a B rating with the NRDC.
I’ve linked the NRDC scorecard under Additional Resources below. For those of you who cannot buy 48 or 60 rolls at a time, try to buy a brand rated well – avoid all of those brands that received a C, D, or F. There are still plenty of budget or storage-friendly products rated A and B to choose from.
“Toilet paper may represent one of the most egregious and wasteful causes of forest loss. The largest US toilet paper brands drive a dangerous tree-to-toilet ‘pipeline’ that is contributing to an unsustainable loss of trees, including the boreal forest in Canada.” -filmmakers and authors, Laurie David and Heather Reisman7
Storage
One concern people have is storage, as you need to purchase 24-48 rolls at once. While it may seem like a lot, remember that receiving such a large shipment at once helps minimize your carbon footprint. I’m fortunate to have a spacious linen closet in my bathroom. However, since we embrace minimalism and Project 333, we store our linens in a dresser in the bedroom since our clothing collection is small. As a result, I use a large shelf in the linen closet to store the toilet paper and paper towels.
But other people have to get more creative! You can store it in the laundry room, foyer closet, under the bed, or in those extra-high kitchen cabinets!
Other Ideas?
Have you found other brands of plastic-free toilet paper? Or have you tried Who Gives a Crap? What about trying alternatives to toilet paper? Please leave me a comment! Thank you for reading and please share and subscribe.
I did not get paid or receive gifts to write about Who Gives A Crap’s products. The opinions in this article are honest and mine.
Additional Resources:
Issue with Tissue scorecard, Natural Resources Defense Council, updated September 19, 2023.
Footnotes:
- Book, Year of No Garbage: Recycling Lies, Plastic Problems, and One Woman’s Trashy Journey to Zero Waste, by Eve O. Schaub, Skyhorse Publishing, New York, 2023. ↩︎
- Page, “Impact,” Who Gives A Crap’s website, accessed September 25, 2022. ↩︎
- Article, “Good Crafts,” Who Gives A Crap’s blog, accessed September 25, 2022. ↩︎
- Page, “Impact,” Who Gives A Crap’s website, accessed September 25, 2022. ↩︎
- Book, Imagine It!: A Handbook for a Happier Planet, by Laurie David and Heather Reisman, Rodale Books, New York, 2021. They cited the Environmental Paper Network Paper Calculator 4.0. ↩︎
- Article, “The Best and Worst Toilet Paper, Paper Towel, and Facial Tissue Brands,” by Courtney Lindwall, nrdc.org, September 19, 2023. ↩︎
- Book, Imagine It!: A Handbook for a Happier Planet, by Laurie David and Heather Reisman, Rodale Books, New York, 2021. ↩︎