Eco-Friendly and Sustainable Toilet Paper: Bamboo versus Recycled
Key Takeaways
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Recycled toilet paper reuses waste paper, saving energy and water, but may still contain harmful chemicals and tree byproducts.
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Bamboo toilet paper is made from a fast-growing, renewable plant with minimal chemical use and strong carbon-sequestration benefits.
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Bamboo TP is softer and stronger than recycled paper, making it a better choice for comfort and less daily use.
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Recycled TP maintains demand for tree products, while bamboo helps reduce deforestation.
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Price differences between bamboo and recycled toilet paper are minimal, especially when factoring in durability and environmental impact.
Navigating the world of environmentally friendly toilet paper can be confusing at best, maddening at worst. So many questions need answers.
What’s the most eco-friendly toilet paper? Is recycled toilet paper better than bamboo toilet paper? Can you even flush bamboo toilet paper?
Which is softer: bamboo or recycled toilet paper?
And then there’s cost. Is bamboo toilet paper really more expensive? Comparing prices across the board doesn’t always give you the entire picture.
That’s why we decided to dig deep into eco-friendly toilet tissue options and lay it out for you. We’ll hash out the pros and cons of bamboo and recycled toilet paper: carbon footprint, softness, cost and beyond.
By the time we’re done, the winner will be clear. (Spoiler: It’s bamboo toilet paper.)
Let’s close the lid on this toilet paper debate once and for all.
[Related: Is Bamboo Toilet Paper Actually Better?]
How Is Toilet Paper Made (and Why Does It Matter for the Planet)?
Toilet paper. It’s a household staple, yet we don’t think much about the tissue in our bathrooms (unless there’s a shortage).
Of course, humans haven’t always used toilet paper to do our business.
We have American inventor Joseph Gayetty to thank for the everyday bathroom items. Back in 1857, he created flat sheets of paper coated in aloe and called it “therapeutic paper.”
The product flopped. Three brothers hit on the right blend of marketing 10 years later; the Scott Paper Company made toilet paper mainstream.
The toilet paper-making process hasn’t changed much since Gayetty’s time. People made it from trees then, and companies make it from trees now.
Let’s take a quick look at how it’s done and why we all need better, more eco-friendly options.
[Related: How We Make Premium Toilet Paper From Bamboo, Step by Step]
How Virgin Toilet Paper Is Made, From Trees to Tubes
Conventional toilet paper starts with a mix of 70% hardwood and 30% softwood trees.
Many of these trees come from Canada's boreal forest. It’s a carbon-dense old-growth forest that spans over 1 billion acres across the country’s northern edge.
Manufacturers debark trees and cut them into small chips. They mix the chips with a slurry of chemicals that breaks them into a pulp. Next, they wash and bleach the pulp, then press and dry it to about a 5% moisture level.
After it’s dry, manufacturers emboss the paper (basically stamp it together) to make it stronger. Then, they roll it onto a long piece of cardboard tubing. Finally, they cut the tube into rolls and package them for consumer sale.
Note. Companies often ship virgin toilet paper pulp around the world before it becomes tissue. This worsens its environmental impact.
[Related: What's Up With Rising Toilet Paper Prices?]
How Recycled Toilet Paper Is Made (and What’s in It)
Making recycled toilet paper is a multistep process. It’s similar to conventional toilet paper made from logged trees (sad face) but uses recycled paper instead.
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Pulping. Recycled paper, like office paper and newspaper, goes in a bin with lukewarm water, breaking it down into a pulp.
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Ink Removal. Manufacturers inject air into the pulp, causing the ink to rise as foam, which they then skim off the surface.
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Bleaching & Water Removal. They bleach the pulp and pass it through large rollers to squeeze out excess water.
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Drying & Embossing. They spread the pulp on a flat surface to dry. Once it’s dry, companies emboss the resulting paper to improve absorbency and strength.
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Rolling & Cutting. They feed the paper onto large rollers, which roll it onto long cardboard tubes. Finally, they cut it into the recycled TP rolls you see on shelves.
How Bamboo Toilet Paper Is Made Without Harsh Chemicals
Making bamboo toilet paper is similar to starting with logged trees, only bamboo is the initial raw material. We chip the bamboo into small pieces and turn them into a pulp with a mixture of heat and water (no chemicals!).
Next, we wash and whiten it using hydrogen peroxide or chlorine-free methods. After that, the process is similar to virgin and recycled toilet paper.
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How Green Is Recycled Toilet Paper?
Recycled toilet paper has some environmental benefits. For one, it uses products (office paper, newspaper) that we’d otherwise throw away.
It reduces (but doesn’t eliminate) the demand for logging trees because paper is made from trees. The manufacturing process also uses 28% to 70% less energy and up to 25% less water than virgin toilet paper.
But because companies can use lumber byproducts in recycled toilet paper, it can still contain trees from old-growth forests.
What Chemicals Are in Recycled Toilet Paper?
Manufacturers need a mixture of chemicals to break down recycled paper, bleach it and transform it into tissue.
Bisphenol-A (BPA) is one chemical of concern; analysts have found it in traces on recycled toilet paper. Scientists have linked BPA exposure to fertility problems, heart disease and endocrine issues. Responsible recycled toilet paper manufacturers ensure their paper is BPA-free and disclose that fact in product information.
Scientists have also detected halogenated hydrocarbons in recycled toilet paper. These chlorinated compounds are known carcinogens and air pollutants.
To date, no studies assess the risk of wiping your tush with toilet paper containing these chemicals. It’s wise to just avoid them altogether, for your health and the planet’s health.
[Related: PFAS Found in Toilet Paper: What You Need To Know]
How Tree-Based Toilet Paper Drives Deforestation
Recycled toilet paper is a better choice than TP made from virgin pulp. Still, the main issue is that making toilet paper from tree products maintains the demand for trees. (Recycled toilet paper comes from paper that comes from trees.)
And it takes 50 years on average for replanted trees to be ready for reharvesting. That means that since commercially available toilet paper hit stores, replanting has occurred about three times.
Humans and trees are simply not on the same timeline. Using trees for convenient, fast, commercially made goods has led to widespread, global deforestation.
Wiping with a natural resource that took 50 years to grow for a few seconds in the bathroom isn’t sustainable. And compared to bamboo, there’s no contest.
[Related: Earth Day: What Can We Do To Stop Deforestation?]
How Eco-Friendly Is Bamboo Toilet Paper?
Bamboo has unique growing properties and usually an ethical and eco-friendly manufacturing process. This means bamboo toilet paper is environmentally friendly and has a low carbon footprint.
Bamboo provides an incredibly durable yet biodegradable material for use. Products made from bamboo are soft yet strong and break down fully after disposal.
Why Bamboo Is One of the Most Sustainable Materials on Earth
An explosion of consumer products made with bamboo has occurred in recent years. From luxurious sheets to durable cutting boards to squares of silky-soft Save Trees, companies are seizing bamboo’s incredible potential.
Bamboo is a highly renewable resource. In fact, some species of bamboo can grow up to 3 feet per day and are ready for harvest in just 3 years.
And when we harvest bamboo, it actually stimulates growth. Yep: The more bamboo is harvested, the more it grows, so it never needs replanting.
Unlike trees, bamboo needs little water or soil nutrients to flourish. It can grow in inhospitable conditions and on nearly every continent. Bamboo also doesn’t need fertilizers to grow, which means it has minimal impact on plant and animal life.
What’s more, bamboo is a carbon sequestration powerhouse. It absorbs up to 2.03 metric tons of CO2 annually per clump and hectare. That’s about 5 times more than trees!
Most bamboo in consumer products is grown and harvested in China. At Save Trees, we use Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified bamboo that small family farms grow.
This aligns with the sustainable practices that organizations like the Natural Resources Defense Council promote. It actively advocates for the conservation of natural resources and eco-friendly alternatives.
We then offset all carbon emissions produced in the transportation of our bamboo paper products to your doorstep.
Is Bamboo Toilet Paper Really BPA- and Chlorine-Free?
Bleaching is necessary to strengthen, whiten and soften toilet paper.
Traditionally, manufacturers bleached toilet paper using elemental chlorine, one of the most toxic human-made chemicals. Fortunately, people have developed safer methods that reduce or eliminate chlorine from the bleaching process.
Bamboo toilet tissue uses fewer and safer chemicals from start to finish.
Save Trees bamboo toilet paper is totally chlorine- and BPA-free. You’ll also find zero scents, dyes and pesticides. Plus, we ship all orders 100% plastic-free.
[Related: 9 Simple Yet Effective Ways to Save Trees]
Bamboo vs. Recycled: Which Toilet Paper Is Softer?
The environmental benefits of bamboo toilet paper are clear, but let’s be honest. That’s not all we’re after in a great toilet tissue. No one wants to use toilet paper with all the softness of Velcro.
Getting the right softness and thickness of toilet paper is important. Go too soft and thick, and the toilet paper can clog pipes and drains. Opt for not soft enough, and no one wants to use it.
For maximum cush for your tush, which is better?
Recycled toilet paper is made with shorter fibers than virgin or bamboo toilet paper, so it’ll never be as soft. Bamboo toilet paper is made with longer fibers for the perfect balance of softness and thickness.
It’s also safe for most septic systems because it breaks down faster than tree-based toilet paper.
[Related: Master Your Sustainable Lifestyle With These 4 Surprising Mindset Tools]
Costs: Bamboo vs. Recycled Toilet Paper
Truth talk about toilet paper costs is coming up. Hands down, virgin toilet tissue is the cheapest option. But you’re not here for that, are you?
When it comes to eco-friendly toilet paper, the differences in price are down to pennies per roll. Our own bamboo toilet paper subscription is $39.99 for 24 rolls.
Plus, most people end up using more recycled toilet tissue because it’s just not as thick as bamboo toilet paper. More tissue means more waste and more cost to you.
Add the environmental cost of tree-based toilet paper to all the above. Spending a little more just makes sense.
Check out our handy price comparison of Save Trees and five other bamboo toilet paper brands.
Bamboo vs. Recycled Toilet Paper: Pros and Cons
Let’s summarize the differences between bamboo and recycled toilet paper.
Recycled Toilet Paper
Recycled toilet paper is a respectable runner-up. Here are its pros and cons.
Pros
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Reuses a product destined for the landfill
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Uses 28%-70% less energy and 25% less water than virgin toilet paper
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Is safe for septic systems
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Has competitive pricing
Cons
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Is made with chemicals known to cause health problems
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May contain bark and other lumber byproducts from old-growth forests
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Maintains dependence on trees for fast, convenient consumer goods
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Isn’t as soft as bamboo toilet paper
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Isn’t as durable, so you need to use more
Bamboo Toilet Paper
Bamboo TP comes out on top. Like any winner, it has cons alongside its many pros.
Pros
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Is made from a highly renewable resource: bamboo, the fastest-growing plant on the planet
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Is made from a CO2-absorbing powerhouse
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Is 100% chlorine-free bleached and BPA-free
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Is soft, durable, biodegradable and safe for septic systems
Cons
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Often comes from China-grown bamboo, making product transportation more carbon-intensive
Note. Save Trees double-offsets any carbon emissions generated during our products’ transportation.
All in all, we hope you've found this information helpful in your quest to find the most eco-friendly toilet paper.
Experience the comfort of the softest bamboo toilet paper, designed to be good to both your body and the Earth.
[Related: 10 Unexpected Perks of a Bamboo Toilet Paper Subscription]
Shop Soft, Sustainable Bamboo Toilet Paper From Save Trees
We’re passionate about caring for the environment and safeguarding your well-being at Save Trees.
That’s why we want to give you all the details so you can make the smartest decision for your situation! Choose bamboo for a happy, healthy bum and a happy, healthy planet.
Browse our shop for super-soft and sustainable bamboo paper products, toilet paper and beyond. Contact us with any questions!