Pros and Cons of Bamboo Toilet Paper

Pros and Cons of Bamboo toilet paper

Should you try using bamboo toilet paper in your own home?

 

Introduction

 

If you are considering whether to try bamboo toilet paper in your own home, you have probably already realised how damaging normal toilet paper can be to the environment, and are actively looking for an alternative.

 

If not however, and you have simply been caught up in the recent bamboo toilet paper craze, read our article, “is toilet paper really a factor in deforestation and climate change”

 

Unfortunately, realising that normal toilet paper is unsustainable is only the start. In 2024, there are a plethora of eco-friendly alternatives, all promising to be sustainable, ethically sourced and yet still friendly to your bum.

 

So should you try recycled toilet paper, hemp toilet paper, bagasse toilet paper or as this blog is suggesting, bamboo toiler paper? All have their pros and cons, but given the recent hype, we investigate the pros and cons of bamboo toilet paper, and whether you should give it a go!

 

Pros

 

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

 

The characteristics of the fibres of the source material used to make toilet paper is extremely important, in that it determines the softness, strength and versatility of the toiler paper produced.

 

Source material with short fibres tend to produce soft toilet paper but one this is ultimately weak, disintegrating easily and having no tensile strength. Material with long fibres tend to produce strong toilet paper but one that is less soft. It is for this reason that normal toilet paper is made from a mix of hardwood trees (short fibres) and softwood trees (long fibres)

 

Bamboo’s fibres tend to be between that of hardwood and softwood trees, making it the perfect source material for toilet paper. This medium fibre length makes bamboo toilet paper naturally soft and strong, without the need to mix it with other materials/fibres.

 

Whats more, the fibre length of bamboo is not shared universally with other eco friendly materials. Bagasse, a byproduct of sugarcane production, can be argued to be equally if not more sustainable than bamboo. Its fibre length however is very short, leading to toilet paper which is very weak and low quality.

 

It is not surprising that most bagasse toilet paper and related products are made of either a mix of bagasse and bamboo or bagasse and softwood.

 

 

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

 

Brazil is the largest producer of sugarcane in the world. Producing over 40% of the world’s sugarcane, it supplies almost double the amount of the next largest producer, India.

 

Brazil is however not nearly as renowned for its manufacturing of toilet paper. Toilet paper manufacturers in Europe, Asia and Africa wishing to use bagasse from Brazil’s sugarcane production to make eco friendly toilet paper would need to expend a significant cost and amount of carbon emissions just to ship this raw product, before toilet paper production has even begun.

 

China on the other hand has one of the largest repositories of bamboo in the world, and bamboo toilet paper factories can access this raw product easily and without the need for length transportation costs and significant carbon emissions from shipping.

 

Should toilet paper production ramp up in countries like Brazil where sugarcane bagasse is widely available, bagasse toilet paper may become a strong eco friendly competitor to bamboo. Until then however, it is more sustainable to buy eco friendly toilet paper from countries that source the raw material locally, including bamboo.

 

  1. Bamboo toilet paper is comparably affordable with luxury toilet paper brands

 

Eco conscious consumers may care more about the environment than consumers in the mainstream, but product affordability and price remains an important factor.

 

Many bamboo toilet paper brands have become large enough in the UK and Europe to offer their toilet paper at competitive prices, especially when comparing to well known luxury brands.

 

In the UK for example, many bamboo toilet paper companies market sell their products at a price cheaper, per 100 sheets, to brands such as Andrex and Cushelle.

 

Other eco friendly toilet paper alternatives are well priced, but many are simply too expensive, driving even the most dogmatic sustainability advocates away, making bamboo a viable option in today’s market.

 

Cons

 

  1. Carbon emissions from transportation

 

Whilst it remains true that manufacturers in China are able to locally source their bamboo, transporting finished bamboo toilet paper products to the UK and Europe for use by Western consumers still causes a significant level of carbon emissions in the shipping process.

 

As per our article “is it possible to produce bamboo toilet paper in the UK and Europe”, there is currently no alternative to importing bamboo toilet paper from places like China.

 

However, it is important to be aware of the issue, so that UK and European companies do the best they can to minimise emissions from shipping, and continuously look for long term solutions.

 

It is also important that consumers are aware of the issue, so they are not buying bamboo toilet paper with the false hope that it is the complete solution. Rather, it is the best current solution, in that it is significantly better than buying normal toilet paper, which continues to ruin natural forests and drive climate change,

 

  1. Expensive when comparing to budget/own supermarket brands

 

Whilst we noted above that when comparing bamboo toilet paper to luxury brands, including Andrex and Cushelle, prices were competitive, bamboo toilet paper remains more expensive than budget brands, including supermarket white label products.

 

Following the high inflation, cost of living crisis and high interest rates as we emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is naïve to expect mainstream customers, who may be living paycheck to paycheck, to prioritise the environment over the little money they have to buy groceries every month.

 

As bamboo toilet paper companies increase in size, they will benefit from economies of scale and be able to offer their products at lower prices. At the moment, bamboo toilet paper is a great sustainable option to normal toilet paper, but a relatively expensive one if compared to budget alternatives.

 

  1. A lot of bamboo toilet paper still lags in quality when compared to its wood-pulp counterparts

 

Bamboo’s intrinsic qualities make it a perfect source material for toilet paper. Normal toilet paper companies however, often multinationals and with centuries of history, are still much more technologically advanced than large factories in China who typically produce bamboo toilet paper, and bamboo toilet paper can still sometimes lag in quality to normal toilet paper.

 

If we ignore eco credentials and price, it is probably still the case that most people would purchase normal toilet paper over bamboo toilet paper due to strength and softness.

 

As bamboo toilet paper continues to make its way into the mainstream however, the quality will continue to improve, and its similarity to normal toilet paper will become more noticeable.

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