This is the second in a series of articles from the Eco Church Team at St Columba’s, which are also published in our church magazine.
Toilet paper – we all use it everyday, but why, when it comes to choosing a brand, is it so complicated? All supermarkets have a whole aisle devoted to it!
For a while I’d been researching into buying more eco-friendly toilet rolls, asking friends and family what they used. I wasn’t happy that my current brand came wrapped in thin plastic film or that the paper must go through several, high energy-use processes to obtain bleached white paper or one step further, adding a colour dye.
My first change was to purchase supermarket rolls that stated they were made from recycled paper. But I needed to get to the “bottom” of the problem and make
realistic comparisons across the eco brands.
New into the mix, is paper made from bamboo. Bamboo requires no pesticides or fertilisers and only needs rainwater to grow. Bamboo absorbs 5 times more carbon
dioxide than trees and produces 35% more oxygen than trees. It is naturally the fastest growing plant in the world and rapidly renewable. Growing up to 3 feet in 24
hours and reaching maturity within 4-6 years – trees take 30-60 years. This sounded good to me.
My 3 children all purchase “Who gives a c**p”, bought in bulk, delivered to your door, each roll wrapped in colourful paper that can be recycled and used as wrapping paper. You can choose from rolls made from recycled paper or bamboo. Single rolls are in some shops if storage space is an issue or you could share a box with a neighbour. I then looked at “Cheeky Panda”, they turn unused bamboo that would otherwise go to waste, into luxury sustainable tissues. Both these brands use ‘friendly chlorine’ to whiten their paper.
Finally, I looked at Naked Sprout, again delivered in bulk to your door in a cardboard box with no individually wrapped rolls – a plus point. They don’t use any chemicals or bleach, so the beige coloured paper takes a bit of getting used to. Also, their factory is powered entirely by renewable energy, including 8,000 onsite solar panels – it’s completely fossil fuel free. Flushed with success! I signed up for my first box of 24 and I’m very happy with my purchase.