Zero Waste Review: Who Gives a Crap Toilet Paper
I'm starting to review zero waste products or businesses that I have used. This is part of my 'journey' to zero waste as I am still quite a way off fitting my land fill into a mason jar as yet.
Having become a member of several zero waste Facebook groups in the last 12 months, it seems that there are patterns in questions about certain products so I thought I'd chip in my two cents worth and try to help provide some answers to the faq's.
And so, the first product review is...
Who Gives a Crap
(Toilet Paper)
This is a zero waste favourite as it is impossibly difficult to purchase bulk rolls of paper from the supermarket without a significant amount of plastic packaging holding them together.
Explain this product:
WGAC is an Australian company that has quickly found a place in households around the world. A group of lads decided that their way of making a difference was to take another look at a bathroom staple. With the idea of being as sustainable as possible, donating half their profits to charity AND promoting high ethical standards in their production line, this tp seems to be ticking all the boxes. (Ticking, not tickling. Get your mind out of the gutter).
Ethical Wins:
All paper - 100% forest friendly bamboo, sugar cane or recycled paper rolls (you get to choose too) and the wrappers are paper, printed with soy inks
Charitable company - they have donated over $1 mil to sanitation and hygiene projects through charities like Wateraid
No bleach - or inks or dyes so your bottom is safe from questionable chemicals
Saving water - by using quick grow plants and eco-friendly materials
Avoiding greenhouse gas emissions - through using sustainable materials
Fair factory - their Chinese production factory gets inspected regularly by the company and a third party to ensure good conditions for employees and the environment
Wins for Your Back Pocket:
100% money back guarantee
Double length rolls mean they should last longer
If you know a recent WGAC user, you can get a discount code for your first order
My Honest Opinion
The math: Firstly, it was a bit of a challenge getting the other half to see the benefit of this paper when you do have to fork out quite a large initial sum of money. We calculated that the 3 ply recycled paper rolls in a 48 pack was the best value for money (£0.75 a roll = £36 total) and even though we would be loaded up with tp in our little flat, I knew it would be worth it. I then went against the math and got the Naughty and Nice bamboo range which works out to be almost £0.90 a roll... (Jim will never know). While this is almost double what we were paying per roll, it works out about the same when you take it to the sheet level- WGAC are double rolls. So far, I think that they are stretching to double the length of use as a regular roll (as you would expect, but apparently this isn't the case for everyone).
The comfort: I will mention here that having them delivered to your door is very comfortable. The tp itself is better than the old stuff we were buying. Stronger and thicker and all round nicer to use.
The wastefulness: When you first see the box full of tp individually wrapped, it does make you question the wastefullness. However, after doing some online research it is evident that they aren't able to efficiently bulk wrap, as the paper would have to be much stronger (aka has to go through more processing and therefore is not as sustainable). No wrap at all would leave the rolls open to damage. The playful wrap is a great marketing tool which has helped them spread their positive message in a fun way. The cardboard box they come in is from recycled material and is easily recyclable. I have heard stories of plastic straps holding multiple packs together however apparently these can be recycled too (I'm checking on this). The biggest issue is sea miles (they ship by sea container to the UK). The tp is made in China which means it travels pretty far to a lot of homes. Bulk buying is preferable for this reason, but alternative regular paper may not have travelled as far.
Are there better alternatives?
I think this is often a matter of opinion and what you are willing to use / spend money on. Lots of people in zw groups rave about reusable cloth wipes for your toosh. I'm not quite there yet. There are other companies with compostable packaging that might be a good option too. We were using Ecoleaf which is one of these companies but I don't have access to a compost bin and the packaging was just going to land fill.
I am enjoying the WGAC tp at the moment and I'm going to be using the naughty / nice wrapping for Christmas presents which is a bonus. My mum can't stop raving about the stuff and she has successfully got other (Australian) friends and family members onto it as well. The company is certainly one that has stood up to scrutiny and appears to be always trying to improve their practices for the benefit of the environment and those who don't have access to basic hygiene.
I'm gonna give Who Gives A Crap toilet paper: 4.5/5
Have you used this toilet paper, or have another suggestion for going zero waste? Comment below.
* This post is not sponsored in any way. All opinions are my own and any information was done through my own research online.
