3.01.2009

toilet paper

Toilet paper: ever thought about it? I have, mainly in the context of American v. German. German tp is much thicker because both men and women fold it in Germany. In America, women bunch and men fold. Ask around, this is true.

Greenpeace has made me think a little more about tp. In Europe Greenpeace is seen as a reputable and mainstream non-profit, not as a crazy group. They recently came out with a guide to toilet paper, paper towel, and tissue brands.

What makes for a more environmental friendly toilet paper? (BTW, Americans use 24% of the world's toilet paper.) Percentage of recycled paper in the tp, percentage of recycled paper that is post-consumer (ie not just waste from making paper products, but paper that someone actually used and then was recycled), and the type of bleaching process used. Using chlorine to bleach the paper does not, as Brent thought, make the water cleaner too. Chlorine kills fish.

Brent and I have had an ongoing discussion about toilet paper. Linda always bought the cheapest (read coarsest/roughest) which is what I would do. Brent likes a more comforting experience. We have settled on Charmin Ultra Strong. Looking at the tissue guide (click anywhere to see it) I can see that this tp is to be avoided. Nothing recycled in it and they use chlorine to bleach it. Bummer, literally.

On Friday night we stopped in at Whole Paycheck and bought some of their generic paper to try. We will see what happens.

What kind of tp do you use? Would you consider changing?

2 comments:

Bobby & Nicole said...

We buy the recycled stuff and it's certainly not cushy. In fact, I was just lamenting that the tp at home is worse than the tp at work. But (or butt?) it is worth it.

BTW, I know a woman that folds. You know her too.

Erin said...

I'm a recovering buncher, but I've seen the light. Folding is definitely better.

So MT and I ran out of our environmentally very unfriendly toilet paper (Kirkland brand) and thought that since we were going to have to buy grocery store toilet paper anyway, we might as well try to find something a little more environmentally friendly. Turns out, we couldn't find a single green or even yellow brand at our local grocery store! I'm sure we could find one at the co-op, but then it'll be five times as expensive. How much are we expected to spend on our butts?? And is it not possible to create a toilet paper that is both environmentally friendly and reasonably priced enough to be available in mainstream stores?