Who Gives A Crap: Rated & Reviewed

Who Gives a Crap is a mission-based company that focuses on toilet paper, tissues and paper towels made from either recycled paper or bamboo pulp. They have numerous continuous improvement initiatives in place including optimized fulfilment to reduce waste, water tracking, FSC certification through the full chain of custody, LCA assessments and emissions tracking. Their suppliers are audited using the BSCI standard and the brand has an extensive range of policies to protect human rights in their supply chain. The Certified-B Corp reports on their sustainability efforts, leverages their humor-centered online and marketing platforms for environmental and social activism and donates 50% of their profits. We have awarded Who Give A Crap our top rating of “Disrupting” and at the time of writing they are our top rated toilet paper brand.

About Who Gives A Crap

Started after a successful Kickstarter campaign by three Aussie friends in 2012, Who Gives A Crap is a pioneering toilet paper brand that has been rethinking the way we wipe for over a decade – led always by a touch of humor. Their focus is to help mitigate the estimated 1 million virgin trees that get flushed down the toilet worldwide daily and to have a profound impact on some of the world’s global problems through their model of donating half their profits. Since 2013, they have donated well over $18M (AUD) to build toilets and improve sanitation in impoverished regions across the globe. Today, the brand also features a number of additional eco-friendly household products like reusable paper towels, recycled garbage bags, recycled pet poop bags, and more.

Product Categories

Personal Care & HouseholdToilet Paper & TissueTrash Bags

Attributes

Certifications / Memberships

B Corp FSC

Location

Australia and USA

Pricing

$$$$$

Ships from

United KingdomUnited StatesChina

Ships to

Worldwide

Rating Summary

Nature & Animals

Paper products are made from responsibly harvested bamboo or recycled paper. Trash bags are made from 100% recycled plastic or BPI ASTM D6400 certification #10529026 certified industrially compostable bioplastic. Their Dream Cloths are not made by Who Gives A Crap but are made from 70% cellulose and 30% repurposed cotton, making them compostable. Biodiversity is addressed with bamboo sourcing from responsibly managed forests and community-based farming cooperatives. Recycled paper is made from post consumer waste – primarily old office supplies. All paper products are FSC certified through the full chain of custody. Who Gives A Crap has a “No Deforestation Commitment” on their website, and they confirm this commitment in most product descriptions. All packaging and shipping materials are plastic-free, paper-based, and reusable or compostable. Boxes and toilet paper wrappings are made from recycled cardboard and paper respectively. The brand reduces waste and pollution along the supply chain with the design of their toilet rolls and container packing methodology specifically designed to maximize efficiency and minimize wrapping materials during transport. At the warehousing stage, some plastic wrap is used however there is an initiative in place to replace this last piece of plastic used in their process with compostable wrap. Recycling is achieved throughout the production process and 20% of products use secondary packaging, but no tracking or targets are formally set regarding waste. All products and packaging are easily recyclable or compostable. To mitigate climate change, the brand has performed a Life Cycle Analysis of their products and they track Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions. They’re working toward an internal SBTi aligned Net Zero goal, but no formal commitment is made with SBTi. The brand ensures carbon neutral shipping through electric vehicles and renewable energy use, plus partnering with Pachama to offset remaining shipping emissions. Energy usage is tracked at supply chain partner facilities and the brand works with these partners to reduce energy used for heating and lighting, though no targets are in place. Who Gives a Crap works with their suppliers to measure and track water usage, although no reduction targets are set. All tissue (paper) production facilities incorporate waste water treatment to reduce pollutants to legislated local standards. Bleach is not used for whitening of paper products with use of lower risk chemicals, hydrogen peroxide and chlorine dioxide, used instead. No PFAS chemicals are added at any stage to products or packaging and the brand tests to ensure fluorine and PFAS levels are below regulated limits. They are working to ensure PFAS are eliminated but this is not confirmed yet. No chemical related targets have been set. The brand is a 100% vegan brand with no use of animal products and no animal testing.

Score for Nature & Animals: 73%. Learn more about our scoring here.

Communities & Wellbeing

Numerous wellbeing and safety policies are in place for their direct workforce, alongside benefits that go beyond legal minimums. Supplier code of conduct, modern slavery statements and a suite of other contracts are in place with suppliers. 90% of finished goods are produced in China, where all suppliers are under contract to these policies. The brand audits down to tier 3 suppliers to the BSCI standard with an obligation for suppliers to continuously be tracked and improved. Audit results are available to BSCI members. The brand also maintains a weekly presence in their Chinese factories. They believe living wages are in place at all stages however this is yet to be validated. Living wage validation is one of their 2025 commitments. DE&I policy is in place together with a DE&I council (now in its third year) who oversees their DE&I strategy and programs, although no public reporting on their achievements is in place. Who Gives A Crap is careful to use lower risk inputs in their products to protect their customer health and safety although no safety certifications are in place as yet. Reasonable privacy and digital protections are in place. Small business sourcing is limited to minor sourcing of non-stock items from local and social enterprises.

Score for Communities & Wellbeing: 67%. Learn more about our scoring here.

Values & Governance

WGAC is a larger company with 250-300 employees at the time of writing. The brand is a Certified B Corp which requires rigorous regular reporting and they report on their impact, carbon footprint and reduction steps on their website. However, there is no formal annual sustainability or impact reporting in place currently. The longstanding brand (founded 2012) has no history of greenwashing accusations and their marketing and online platform is frequently used for positive social and environmental activism. This social enterprise’s giving is exemplary and is their primary reason for existing. Their mission is to ensure everyone in the world has access to clean water and a toilet. They donate 50% of their profits to this end – to date this has amounted to AUD$18M. The donations are directed specifically to Fresh Life (provides waterless toilets in densely populated urban settlements in Kenya), Water Aid Australia (provides solutions, advocacy education and systematic change around the world) and Water For People (provides clean water and sanitation to households, clinics and schools in Uganda). They select partners with a proven track record who can maximize impact for the most vulnerable.

Score for Values & Governance: 67%. Who Gives A Crap loses points in this section only because they are a larger company. We believe their values and governance are exemplary. Learn more about our scoring here.

Product Performance

WGAC’s products generally perform as well or better than mainstream versions in terms of functional needs. Customers generally feel that the bamboo toilet paper is durable, textured, and soft. A select portion of customers find the recycled toilet paper to be less absorbent and harder to get the roll started. SJ testing of both recycled and bamboo toilet paper over many years confirms product performance, softness, efficiency, and durability. At no stage have we been tempted to go back to conventional toilet paper.

Score for Product Performance: 100%. Learn more about our scoring here.

Review Summary From Other Customers

Pros

Customers mostly report products meet their functional needs
Bamboo toilet paper in particular is considered textured, durable, and soft by most customers.
Recycled toilet paper is well reviewed as functional by customers who appreciate that it is made from recycled office paper from schools and offices close to production facilities.

Cons

A small segment of customers say the recycled toilet paper is thinner, less absorbent, and harder to get the roll started; the bamboo version is often preferred for its softness and durability (though note, the recycled option is more sustainable in general)
Product costs are higher than mainstream alternatives and some customers find this an impediment though most understand there are broader social and environmental benefits.

Disrupting

Top 10% of brands

Who Gives a Crap scores 72% overall and at the time of writing is our top rated brand in the toilet paper category. Learn more about our scoring here.

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