Don’t Flush Our Forests Down the Toilet!

All of us want to protect forests and cool the warning climate. That’s easy. But it turns out too few of us make one of the easiest moves we can do to help forests. Today. With no impact on your lifestyle. 

It’s in the bathroom: the toilet tissue you use, one of the most important consumer choices you can make.

For each of us wipes with about 141 tissue rolls annually, which means that, worldwide, about 27,000 trees are cut down each day to make toilet paper, almost 10 million trees a year. It’s big money: the U.S. tissue market-- including facial and toilet tissues-- generates $31 billion in revenue every year, and Americans, who make up only 4 percent of the world’s population, account for over 20 percent of global tissue consumption. 

Sadly, many of the trees used by American companies come from Canada’s boreal forests, one of the world's greatest forest ecosystems, but one that’s greatly impacted. The NRDC estimates that industrial logging claims more than a million acres of boreal forest every year; that’s seven Flyers rinks each minute, in part to meet US demand for tissue products. Over the two decades between 1996 and 2015, the NRDC says over 28 million acres of boreal forest in Canada have been logged over. 

And after a summer of wicked wildfires fueled by climate change and drought, Canadian forests need a break. 

To help you out, the NRDC has for many years been rating toilet tissue for their environmental impact, looking for companies that use recycled fiber, non-tree sources, and have a commitment to the environment. In their latest rankings, released last year, the top three highest-selling companies-- Procter & Gamble, Kimberly-Clark, and Georgia-Pacific--have been given an F-- they fail. These three are responsible for some of  the best known, most beloved, and most advertised brands, like Charmin, Cottenelle, Quilted Northern, Kleenex, Scott, and Angel Soft.

So stop squeezing that Charmin!

Instead, switch to tree-free brands like Who Gives A Crap-- seriously, that's a company-- Seventh Generation, and Green Forest, all of which scored As in the NRDC test.

While house brands like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods’ 365 also scored As, Costco’s Kirkland brand and Walmart’s Ultra 1000 failed as well. Quilted Northern has deployed an Eco version, which the NRDC dismisses as classic greenwashing-- no recycled content, nothing sustainable.

There is a climate connection here, too, as TP made from virgin fiber releases three times as much carbon than tissue paper made from other materials. If you’d like to lower your carbon footprint, switch brands.

My household's been using Who Gives A Crap this year, having recently switched from Green Forest, only because this brash upstart brand offers recycled rolls too and is packaged only in paper-- happily there is no plastic wrapping anymore.

In a NY Times study published last year, one that relied more on comfort than sustainability, they noticed that the best-sellers are softer and often stronger. Who Gives A Crap likes to call this a “bum rap”-- their marketing is of course loaded with puns. Still, softwoods like pine produce softer rolls, which has been a problem for some traditional users wanting to go eco-friendly.

So the Times recommended Seventh Generation 100% Recycled Extra Soft & Strong Bath Tissue, which they dub “the cubic zirconia of toilet paper,” the best fake in the bunch. “We think the average person would be hard-pressed to guess that this one is formulated with 100% recycled paper, instead of traditional virgin tree pulp.”

I’ll give the last word to the NRDC: “Our planet has no time for the largest companies in the world to take half-measures or deflect blame,” they write in their report. “As a major driver of pulp and paper production in Canada, U.S. tissue companies must change their ways if we want to preserve this irreplaceable, vital forest. Going forward, we must build on the momentum of a shifting marketplace and continue to push corporations to adopt stringent, climate-friendly standards for their tissue products.

p.s. Who Gives A Crap also uses 50% of its profits to build toilets worldwide, as they report that 40% of the world still doesn’t have access to a toilet. Another reason I came over to them.