9 Eco-Friendly Toilet Paper Brands For A Planet Friendly Potty
We need to get to the bottom (pun intended) of the type of waste none of us want to think about—toilet paper.
While not as glamorous as ethical jewelry or sustainable fashion, eco friendly toilet paper can also help us stop flushing our planet down the drain.
Just because something is disgusting doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be discussing it.
Cloud Paper’s bamboo rolls are double-time carbon offset, making these arguably the most sustainable toilet paper from ship to s***.
For recycled toilet paper that’s as pro-planet and as it is pro-poo-poo, Who Gives A Crap embodies their name.
For the bravest bums out there, stock your zero waste bathroom with reusable toilet paper from Marley’s Monsters.
Let’s start giving a s*** about our planet, by starting with the best eco friendly toilet paper.
*This post contains affiliate links
QUICK LINKS FOR THE BEST ECO FRIENDLY TOILET PAPER
1. WHO GIVES A CRAP
Who Gives a Crap’s Best Recycled Toilet Paper
You won’t find any inks, dyes, or scents in Who Gives A Crap toilet paper.
What you will find is either sustainably sourced bamboo or recycled paper.
The bamboo toilet paper is forest friendly and super soft (“it’s like wiping with clouds”). Soft eco friendly toilet paper that isn’t scratchy for the planet either is a win-win.
The 100% recycled toilet paper is made with 95% post-consumer waste paper and 5% post-industrial paper which is cleaned at high temperatures – meaning it’s 100% hygienic, BPA-free and biodegradable TP.
Both are whitened with hydrogen peroxide rather than chlorine bleach.
All packaging is compostable and the colorful individual roll wrappers make for a perfect gift wrap solution, crafting supplies, or even zero waste dog doo paper.
Set up a bamboo or recycled toilet paper online subscription and you won’t need to get creative when you find yourself past the point of no return without a spare back-up roll.
And that advice comes from our own personal experience with this brand and our podcast chat with the founder (this is not a sponsored feature).
Buying eco friendly toilet paper in bulk saves money, avoids a potentially messy situation and reduces shipping emissions.
About Who Gives a Crap
Who Gives a Crap loves toilet paper because it allows them to make a difference.
When the eco friendly toilet paper company was first launched in Australia via Kickstarter, more than 2.4 billion people (40% of the global population) didn’t have access to a toilet.
This puts adults and children at risk of serious diarrheal diseases caused by poor sanitation.
Over the last decade, that number has decreased to 2 billion people without a toilet.
Some of that is thanks to WGAP, which donates 50% of its profits to improve sanitation and build toilets in the developing world via several potty partners.
As a Certified B Corporation, products are made in China by producers who meet their strict standards and processes.
They also source materials locally near their factories, which means a smaller supply chain and shipping footprint.
Available: Who Gives A Crap
2. CLOUD PAPER
Cloud Paper’s Best Eco Friendly Toilet Paper
What’s the best eco friendly toilet paper?
One that doesn’t hurt the planet or your bum.
Aptly named Cloud Paper ticks both with some of the softest eco friendly toilet paper around. You can choose between their Premium 3-ply or Basic 2-ply.
Soft, strong, and lint-free, these 100% FSC-certified bamboo toilet paper rolls are free of scents, dyes, pesticides, BPA, and chlorine bleach.
The only other material included is a little bit of cornstarch adhesive used to attach the first sheet to the roll.
With near-perfect rave reviews, and the backing of Natural Resources Defense Council who awarded them the highest score possible for eco friendly bamboo toilet paper, you can’t wipe wrong using Cloud Paper.
They work on a subscription model offering 2, 3, or 4-month options for their 24-roll boxes, but you can delay orders or cancel any time.
About Cloud Paper
Seattle-based Cloud Paper aims to #FreeTheTrees with its sustainable household paper products.
Tree-free products aside, the packaging is also plastic and virgin tree-free, including compostable paper wrapping for each roll and the 100% recycled content box they’re mailed in.
Speaking of, they not only offset shipping emissions through Carbonfund, but offset them double-time, not including the tree they plant for every order.
Be sure to order before you’re down to your last roll because they never expedite shipping to curb emissions.
Their bamboo is sourced from family-owned farms in Asia, and their Premium rolls are manufactured nearby in China.
If you’re seeking, eco friendly toilet paper made in the USA, opt for the 2-ply Basic rolls, as these are manufactured in the US.
They donate numerous rolls of toilet paper to Food Lifeline (among other non-profits) for distribution to local food banks and shelters.
Available: Cloud Paper
3. REEL
Reel’s Eco Friendly Bamboo Toilet Paper
Reel’s 100% bamboo toilet paper is the reel toilet paper deal.
Individually wrapped in 100% recyclable or compostable paper and certified “ready biodegradable”, they’re mindful of the end of life for all elements.
Because the most eco friendly toilet paper doesn’t use toxic chemicals, theirs is sans BPA, inks, dyes, or fragrances, and is whitened using elemental chlorine-free bleach.
Each cardboard box comes with 24 mega rolls, available as either one-time buys or cancel-any-time subscription options.
About Reel
Reel makes 100% tree-free products that include FSC-certified recycled paper towels as well as sustainable toilet paper.
While based in California, their bamboo is sourced from southwestern China, and the rolls are ethically manufactured through companies abroad, though they don’t specify which.
Co-founder Derin Oyekan grew up in Lagos and witnessed firsthand the negative impact which lack of hygienic bathroom solutions has on communities.
That’s why Reel’s mission is to not only cut down on toilet waste but also on toilet inequality by partnering with SOIL to provide toilets to communities in Haiti.
In doing so, they also remove existing toilet waste, treat it, and transform it into compost for local reforestation, farming, and climate change mitigation efforts.
Orders are shipped via Carbon Neutral freight.
Available: Reel
4. THRIVE MARKET
Thrive Market’s Eco Friendly Toilet Paper Online
Septic safe, soft, and strong: that’s what you get with Thrive Market’s Bamboo Hybrid Bath Tissue.
They’re made of a 50/50 blend of bamboo and post-consumer recycled content.
The bamboo is rainwater-fed and grown without pesticides and fertilizers, and the 2-ply partially recycled eco friendly toilet paper rolls are chlorine, fragrance, and dye free.
Rather than individually wrapped rolls, the sets come in recycled plastic bulk wrapping.
Available in 12-roll bulk packages (breaking down to $0.75 per roll) with a price match guarantee, it’s some of the cheapest eco friendly toilet paper available.
About Thrive Market
Thrive is a subscription-based bulk online store and Certified B Corp providing ethically sourced personal care products and healthy food for almost every diet and value imaginable.
Just like their TP, they make healthy, sustainable lifestyles accessible with boxes for as little as $5.
As far as brands that give back go, they thrive, donating a free subscription to families in need for each one purchased, as well as collecting conditions for food equality and petitioning to USDA to trial online food stamps.
Orders are shipped from zero waste warehouses via carbon neutral ground shipping in 100% recyclable packaging.
Available: Thrive Market
5. NO. 2
No. 2’s Eco Friendly Bamboo Toilet Paper
No. 2 makes 100% FSC-certified bamboo toilet paper that is clog and septic safe, and free of inks, dyes, and scents.
To achieve the white color, their pulp mill utilizes multi-stage bleaching via element-free chlorine bleaching.
The dot embossed texture and 3-ply provides a luxurious wipe (if there is such a thing) with “95% Less Butt Crumble” (not to encourage a visual here).
Since softness is subjective, peep the reviews for proof.
Each roll comes wrapped in a colorful variety of soy-ink recycled paper wrapping than can either be tossed in your indoor compost bin or reused for zero waste gift wrapping.
Choose between one-time orders of 8, 28, or 48 roll cartons, or customizable subscribe-and-save options.
About No. 2
Female founded No. 2 is aiming to become No. 1 for making the most eco friendly toilet paper.
Feature by the likes of goop, Better Homes & Gardens, and more, they’re certainly making a splash beyond the big white phone.
The bamboo comes from the Sichuan province of China, the same country that manufactures the toilet paper.
Orders are shipped plastic free.
Available: No. 2
6. BETTERWAY
Betterway’s Eco Friendly Toilet Paper Alternative
Betterway makes sustainable toilet paper that’s “soft on the planet, and soft on you.”
The hypoallergenic design features 3-plies of 100% FSC-certified organically grown bamboo that’s septic safe and biodegradable.
It doesn’t feature inks, dyes, scents, or BPA.
They’re poo-sitive, you’ll love the embossed, lint-free texture, which is why it’s backed by a 100-day Happy Wiping guarantee.
Another of the cheapest eco friendly toilet paper options, their “💩 engineers” calculate that each person will use only 2-3 Betterways rolls a month.
They’re available in 12, 24, and 36 roll packs to purchase as needed or via subscription.
About Betterway
“It’s the little choices we make every day that determine the difference between what our world is, and what it could be.“
That was the thought which steered Betterway to a better way to wipe, with their eco friendly toilet paper or their bidet attachments.
With a Climate Neutral certification, BSCI-certified manufacturing partners, and recycled, plastic-free packaging, the only thing dirty about their TP is the butts its off to clean.
The bamboo is also hand harvested from small, local farms in a region (which is not a part of) panda habitats.
Available: Betterway
7. WHISPER BIDET
Whisper Bidet Eco Friendly Toilet Paper Alternative
The most eco friendly toilet paper solution is no toilet paper at all—i.e zero waste toilet paper.
Enter: the bidet, a bathroom fixture that attaches to the back rim of your toilet bowl via the seat and sprays water at your butt.
Bidets are nothing new, but for years, Americans, Canadians, and Australians were oddly resistant to the idea.
We get it; there’s some apprehension about a toilet break sans toilet paper, but what’s not to love about “a tiny shower for your butt™?”
The Whisper Bidet is an affordable and easy-to-use way to clean after a poop, and most people will tell you that switching to a bidet is a life-changing and fant-ass-tic choice.
Contrary to common belief, a bidet will not soak you, or your entire bathroom. Stay seated and it will go directly where it’s supposed to. After 5 to 15 seconds, you can use a few squares of eco friendly toilet paper (or reusable cloth) to dab dry.
The only plumber’s crack the process will involve?
Yours. The Whisper Bidet can be installed by anyone in minutes.
About Whisper Bidet
The average American uses 57 squares of toilet paper daily.
Aside from general below-the-belt discomfort after excessive wiping, toilet paper is known for leftover bacterial residue that may lead to UTIs, amongst other issues.
Whisper is changing that, encouraging US and Canadian residents to hop (or sit) on the bidet bandwagon:
“It all starts with an open mind and a clean butt.”
Switching to a bidet will save money, toilet paper (80%, to be exact), water, the planet, and your a$$ in the process.
Available: Whisper Bidet
8. MARLEY’S MONSTERS
Marley’s Monsters’ Eco Friendly Toilet Paper
Take a seat on the toilet and bare (down) with us as we dive into an unfamiliar eco friendly toilet paper alternative: reusable toilet paper.
Marley’s Monsters’ Toilet UNpaper Roll is a 100% cotton flannel reusable toilet paper.
These non-flushable (we mean it – DON’T flush them) toilet paper wipes are designed to be used and collected in a bin or wet bag to be washed every two to three days.
The reviews are glowing and they would pair perfectly well with a bidet.
About Marley’s Monsters
Marley’s Monsters is a zero waste online store that specialized in reusable replacements for single-use paper products, like their reusable paper towels.
In addition to that, they have bath and beauty, home and living, zero waste baby, and kitchen products.
Based in Eugene, Oregon, the family-owned brand was started when owner Sarah Dooley wanted to make her not-yet-born daughter Marley something special.
It started with a stuffed monster, and now the brand has a brick-and-mortar shop and happy customers scattered all around the globe.
As a BRING certified sustainable business, everything is handmade using energy efficient techniques and is packaged/shipped plastic free.
They donate any fabric waste to nonprofits that upcycle them into new products.
Available: Etsy
9. PURE PLANET CLUB
Pure Planet Club’s Eco Friendly Toilet Paper
Pure Planet Club produces tree-free toilet paper that’s plant-based, plastic-free, and made of 100% natural and renewable bamboo.
The toilet paper is whitened using elemental free chlorine bleach (i.e. chlorine dioxide).
For those of us who aren’t chemistry buffs, chlorine dioxide is ten times more soluble than the chlorine that is traditionally used.
Their thick eco friendly toilet paper ticks all the boxes: vegan-friendly, cruelty-free, septic-safe, BPA-free, and ultimately, guilt-free.
About Pure Planet Club
Pure Planet Club’s mission is to help everyday people make a difference in the world by preventing climate change through simple swaps of common household items.
And what’s more commonly used than TP?!
Their sustainable toilet paper is shipped 100% plastic free.
The bamboo is sustainably-sourced from well-managed plantations in Asia, where they also manufacture the toilet paper. They work closely with the factories to ensure they use ethical practices and pay fair trade wages.
Available: Pure Planet Club
WHY ECO FRIENDLY TOILET PAPER ALTERNATIVES?
Contrary to the belief of several boys in your 5th grade class, everybody poops (girls included).
This means there are more than 7.5 billion of us wiping our bottoms on the regular. No matter what “regular” means to you, that’s a heck of a lot of toilet paper not just clogging our septics, but our planet.
Not to flush away your other low waste living efforts, but if you haven’t used your porcelain throne as a platform for sustainable change, your trash jar fails to reflect a huge portion of your waste.
A single roll of traditional toilet paper requires ⅓ KW electricity, 37 gallons of water, and 1.5 pounds of wood to produce. These rolls collectively are whitened with 253,000 tons of chlorinated bleach every year.
Most of this comes from virgin tree pulp grown on unsustainable monoculture plantations (one of biodiversity’s worst nightmares). Globally, we’re flushing 27,000 trees down the toilet every day.
Unless you’re a three-square kind of person (#respect), you’re unrollling your way to requiring a personal forest of 384 trees in your lifetime.
Essentially, we’re clogging toilets with chemically-soaked wet wipes, wiping our butts with deforestation, and buying from a toilet paper industrial complex that is extremely water-intensive—a particularly constipating environmental trifecta.
Whether you believe the end of the roll goes in front or in the back, we hope you’ll all agree that’s not okay.
Unless we want to wipe away humanity’s chance of surviving on this planet, we need to stop our business-as-usual mentality when we “take care of business.”
Especially when there are so many answers for where to buy eco friendly toilet paper these days.
FINAL THOUGHTS ON SUSTAINABLE & RECYCLED TOILET PAPER
An average person will spend three years of their life sitting on the throne.
No sh*t!
So you can image (or rather don’t) the kind of impact that has overtime. You don’t have to get rid of toilet paper entirely but it should give you some motivation to wipe away unnecessary waste.
Did this article leave some sustainable skid marks in your mind? Or give you something to think about when you’re “dropping the kids off at the Super Bowl”?
Maybe you’re even reading this while on the toilet. If so, we’re flattered.
We’ll pass the plunger to you now.
Help us keep this doody discussion going and pass this list of the most eco friendly toilet paper onto your toilet-bound friends (which is to say, all of them!).
