Recycled Toilet Paper: A Change for the Better
You have all the seen the numerous ads about how each toilet paper’s brands are the “softest” on the market. It seems to have come somewhat of an obsession with Americans to have these fancy toilet paper. The biggest problem with this splurging is that it is having a major effect on our environment. The biggest problem with “fluffy” toilet paper is that it must be made from still standing trees. This means that recycled paper cannot be used to make it. This is a huge problem considering that millions of trees across North and South America are being cut down each year to supply this luxury that is so unnecessary.
Currently, wood from sustainable forests only makes up around 25% of the total amount used in the production of these fancy toilet papers. So where does the rest come to make the toilet paper? Well, many old forests that have been standing for many years in North America are being cut done to get the remainder of the wood. These types of forests contribute to absorbing our excessive amounts of carbon dioxide and can help reduce the constant risk of global warming. This seems like a huge price to pay just so that we can have slightly softer toilet paper.
Recycled Toilet Paper
There are alternatives available on the market to the “fluffy” toilet papers that are made from recycled materials. Granted they are often not as soft nor quite as strong as brands like Charmin or Angel Soft, but who really cares. You are only going to be using the toilet paper once. The National Resources Defense Council has a great guide to how environmentally friendly many of the more popular toilet papers are. Some of the top brands are:
Seventh Generation
Seventh Generation has one of the more popular recycled toilet papers because of it’s softness and use of 100% recycled materials with more than 80% of that is post-consumer. They also do use any chemicals or dyes and are safe for septic tanks. They have two types of toilet paper, 2-Ply, which is thicker and easier to use or the 1-ply version that is more environmentally friendly but a little harder to use.
Green Forest
Green Forest is on par with Seventh Generation as they are one of the softer recycled toilet papers on the market and use 100% recycled materials with more than 90% of it post-consumer. On top of one of the better quality toilet papers, Green Forest is also affordable at about 44 cents per roll for a 2-ply.
There are other brands out there at a local natural food store and even in major grocery stores including Marcal or Earth First. What type of toilet paper do you use and where did it end up on the environmentally friendly list?
