bamboo toilet paper

Is bamboo toilet paper worth the hype?

Five reasons why bamboo toilet paper is the perfect eco friendly alternative to normal toilet paper

 

Introduction

 

In 2012, Andrex made a bold move. With a £4m marketing campaign, it rolled it an “eco brand” toilet paper made from bamboo. The initial hype quickly waned, and Andrex removed the product from stores, citing weak demand.

 

Several years later however, and with the outset of several UK, European and Australian bamboo toilet paper brands, bamboo toilet paper began to boom, although the hype was still limited to those in the eco friendly product space.

 

Fast forward to the COVID-19 pandemic, and toilet paper shortages pushed bamboo toilet paper into the mainstream for the first time. If you open the online website of most of the largest UK supermarkets, there will now be at least one bamboo toilet paper option

 

As we entered 2024, bamboo toilet paper hype continued to grow, but is there anything behind the hype. Below, we outline five key reasons why bamboo toilet paper is indeed worth the hype.

 

  1. Bamboo is a significantly more sustainable resource to make toilet paper than trees

 

Bamboo holds the Guinness World Record as the fastest growing plant in the world, and can grow more than twenty times faster than trees.

 

Once a tree is cut down and processed to make toilet paper, it can take up to 40 years for a replanted tree to be ready for the next harvest. Bamboo on the other hand takes 2 years to be ready for the next harvest after it is first cut, and does not even need to be replanted.

 

Given the rapid growth of bamboo and its inherent sustainable qualities, it is a much better material for toilet paper in the long run than trees.

 

  1. Bamboo’s medium length fibres make for toilet paper which is both strong and soft

 

Normal tissue paper can be made from either softwood, hardwood, or often a combination of both. Softwood trees tend to have longer fibres (2-4mm) and whilst this makes for stronger toilet paper, it is the short fibres from hardwood trees (less than 1mm) which are responsible for giving tissue their perceived softness.

 

Bamboo’s medium length fibres (around 2mm) give resulting toilet paper both strength and perceived softness, making it a perfect eco friendly alternative to normal toilet paper. This is also the reason that many customers find little to no difference between normal toilet paper and high quality bamboo toilet paper, as long as they both have the same dimensions (3 ply)

 

  1. Bamboo if a key factor in the fight against climate change

 

Bamboo is a key plant in the fight against climate change. A grove of bamboo releases 35% more oxygen than an equivalent group of trees. Whats more, research in Japan has shown that bamboo absorbs as much as 12 tonnes of carbon dioxide per hectare per year The intrinsic qualities of bamboo are therefore carbon friendly, and choosing to use bamboo toilet paper is a quick win in the fight against climate change.

 

  1. Bamboo toilet paper is biodegradable

 

Bamboo toilet paper is 100% biodegradable, making it a perfect solution for the safety of our bathroom pipes.


A major concern of toilet paper users is whether it will clog their pipes and damage their septic systems. As discussed above, bamboo fibres are shorter than their softwood counterparts, making them easier to break down, and the best option if you want to rest easy that they will never cause blockages in your plumbing system

 

  1. Bamboo is most widely available in the countries where bamboo toilet paper production is highest

 

One of the most significant causes of deforestation in areas like the Amazon rainforest in Brazil and the boreal forest in Canada is the demand for its wood in other parts of the world. Companies in the US and Europe cannot rely solely on their own countries’ resources, and this puts a significant strain on countries with vast woodland.

 

In contrast, the largest bamboo toilet paper producing countries such as China also contain the largest natural repositories of bamboo. This enables China to directly regulate and control the use of bamboo in products, closely monitor the impact of harvests on bamboo forests and limit the costly and carbon emitting process of transporting bamboo to production facilities and factories.

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