Review: How Sustainable Is Who Gives A Crap Toilet Paper?
In this Who Gives A Crap toilet paper review, I’m going to answer all your burning questions about sustainable loo roll while looking closely at Who Gives A Crap’s eco credentials
Did you know that mainstream toilet roll is a major cause of deforestation?
Luckily, sustainable brands like Who Gives A Crap (WGAC) are making it easier than ever to make conscious choices for our planet.
While working out at 23p per 100 sheets for its recycled toilet paper, and 27p for its bamboo, WGAC has been praised for being cheaper than the UK’s most popular brand Andrex - its 9 pack of mega rolls costing 35p per 100 sheets (and 29p when on sale for £8).
(For a more detailed cost breakdown, check out section 9.)
In this review of Who Gives A Crap’s credentials, I will address the common concerns people have with eco-friendly toilet paper, such as bleaching, BPA in recycled paper, and the manufacturing of bamboo overseas.
This way, you can make an informed choice when moving away from mainstream toilet paper which may contribute to 1.9 million trees being cut down each day, according to a study commissioned by WGAC.
(The other statistic people use, 27,000 trees per day from 2010, has been removed from National Geographic so it is not a credible source).
Keep reading if you want to know if Who Gives A Crap is actually sustainable.
Disclaimer - I have been sent a free box of WGAC’s limited edition mood-boosting Happy TP which you’ll see photographed throughout this post. PR samples do not change my opinions and I never publish anyone else’s words on this site. This website is reader-supported and funded through affiliate links. See my disclaimer for details.
COMING UP
SHORT SUMMARY: Is Who Gives A Crap sustainable?
Who owns Who Gives A Crap?
What makes WGAC different to other brands?
Manufacturing and carbon footprint
Packaging and materials
Why is the toilet roll individually wrapped?
The facts about bleaching toilet paper
The benefit of bleaching toilet roll
Is chlorine bleach used to whiten toilet paper?
Does recycled toilet paper need bleaching?
Is bamboo toilet paper bleached?
Is Who Gives A Crap toilet paper bleached?
What type of paper is WGAC’s recycled range made from?
Does Who Gives A Crap recycled toilet roll contain BPA?
Cost Comparison - WGAC vs other brands
Conclusion - pros and cons of WGAC
1. quick Summary: Is Who Gives A Crap Sustainable?
Yes, Who Gives A Crap is a sustainable brand who have received a “best buy” award from Ethical Consumer. If you don’t have time to read my full investigation, here are some of the reasons I would recommend Who Gives A Crap:
✅It uses no “virgin” paper - they only use 100% recycled paper and bamboo in their toilet and kitchen rolls, which means no deforestation (including the wrappers)
✅It’s a B-Corp - which means it meets a high standard of social and environmental criteria
✅All products are vegan - brands like Charmin/Cushelle confirm their toilet roll may contain animal-derived ingredients (usually in the glue to hold it together)
✅Conscious packaging - Who Gives A Crap is almost plastic-free, they are working on finding a replacement for the strip of plastic tape that seals the bulk-size cardboard box. All packaging is made from recycled material or bamboo.
✅Sells products in bulk - this reduces carbon emissions from transport
✅Carbon-neutral shipping - Who Gives A Crap worked out that 20% of their emissions came from transport so they offset these emissions
✅Working hard to reduce their carbon footprint - they are not yet carbon neutral but are transparent about their impact and are investing in renewable energy and electric vehicles
✅Conscious about chemicals - no BPA, no elemental chlorine bleaching, and plant-based glue
2. Who owns Who Gives A Crap?
The CEO of Who Gives A Crap, Simon Griffiths, was first introduced on the toilet during a successful crowdfunding campaign where he didn’t budge until they had raised $50,000.
He stayed there for 50 hours (see the video here) during which time Simon and his co-founders, Jehan and Danny, shared how they wanted to donate 50% of the profits from their eco-friendly toilet paper to water and sanitation charities to build toilets in developing countries.
3. What makes Who Gives A Crap different to other brands?
It’s 2023 and there are quite a few sustainable toilet paper brands with very similar ethics. Some are slightly better than others but none of them compare to Who Gives A Crap when it comes to charitable giving.
Having first got into sustainability when I volunteered in Tanzania with a water and sanitation charity, I have experienced life without a toilet, and it is not pleasant!
In the village I was staying in, most people only had a hole in the ground outside their homes to do their business, with no roof or walls.
This was even less fun if you needed a wee at night during a storm (I have mentally blocked out the cockroaches!).
3.6 billion people still living without a toilet is a catastrophic failure in terms of human rights, but people deserve dignity just as much as they need proper sanitation.
This is why I love that Who Gives A Crap gives 50% of its profits to toilet-building charities, like Wateraid and Splash. As of 2023, they have donated $11,222,000.
My toilet and shower during my time in Tanzania:
4. Manufacturing and carbon emissions
is Who Gives A Crap toilet roll Made in China?
Yes, Who Gives A Crap has been transparent about its manufacturing which mainly takes place in China.
However, as of 2023, they now produce 100% recycled toilet paper in the US (for US customers) and kitchen roll and tissues in the UK.
I know a lot of you dislike that they make products in China, and I’m all for local, ethical manufacturing, but I think it’s really important that we don’t stigmatise China by making assumptions. Especially when ALL bamboo comes from there anyway.
It could be argued that where something is produced isn’t as important as how it is produced.
I’d much rather buy from an ethical fashion brand producing its organic clothing in Asia, than Boohoo using slave labour in Leicester, y’know?!
When talking about choosing to base production in China, Who Gives A Crap said:
“We wanted to package our products the best we can… Western producers had non-flexible, automated production lines designed to make low-sheet count rolls, wrapped in plastic to service the supermarket world at scale.”
Rather than racking up carbon emissions by shipping materials from multiple sources, WGAC is able to source their bamboo and post-consumer recycled paper from China (with nothing being imported), manufacture it nearby, and then distribute it via sea freight to their warehouses in the UK, USA, and Australia.
The cardboard boxes they use to distribute are also made from recycled materials.
Read more about their manufacturing here.
I’m assuming that it’s a much slower process to expand your manufacturing when you donate 50% of your profits to charity. but now that WGAC’s business is growing bigger, they have begun producing their products closer to the places they are sold.
5 ways Who Gives A Crap are reducing Carbon emissions
When it comes to acknowledging and improving its carbon footprint, Who Gives A Crap has made a lot of improvements in 2023 including:
They partnered with Edge Environment, an impact consultancy, to do a Life Cycle Assessment on its products which helped them calculate a carbon footprint.
They are exploring and implementing local manufacturing options
Who Gives A Crap has been increasing the renewable energy throughout their supply chain, including writing “crap” in solar panels on their Australian warehouse!
They are in the process of transitioning their Australian warehouse-to-customer product transportation to electric vehicles to reduce transport emissions.
20% of WGAC’s emissions are from shipping. They have offset them by paying to protect untouched parts of the Amazon rainforest and Indonesian peatlands from deforestation. This is a palm oil hotspot and protecting it prevents large amounts of carbon from being released into the atmosphere (alongside keeping wildlife safe). Offsetting gives WGAC carbon-neutral shipping
Who Gives A Crap has acknowledged that it needs to keep making improvements to reduce its carbon footprint, has been transparent about its carbon emissions for 2022, and is working on long-term solutions to continue to decrease its impact.
ID - “Telling a stranger to smile? Not helpful. Giving someone a smile? Now that could do the trick. Studies show seeing a warm smile activates our orbitofrontal cortex, which is a fancy way to say we feel rewarded” on the Who Gives A Crap wrapper
5. Packaging and materials
When you buy from Who Gives A Crap, you have a choice between 100% recycled toilet roll and premium bamboo.
They arrive in a recycled cardboard box (with a strip of plastic tape) and are individually wrapped in bamboo paper.
Previously they were wrapped in paper, but all wrappers are now being made from bamboo making Who Gives A Crap even more forest-friendly.
Why is Who Gives A Crap individually wrapped?
Who Gives A Crap reduced the width of its bamboo toilet roll by 5% (5mm) so it could reinvest it into the individual wrappers.
Wrapping toilet rolls individually seems unnecessary to some people (which is understandable), but Who Gives A Crap say that it helps catch people’s eye and spread the word about the importance of sustainable toilet roll.
This is a good point when you consider Andrex, Tesco, and Cushelle are still the most popular toilet roll brands in the UK because the demand for recycled toilet paper isn’t there.
According to Ethical Consumer, Andrex reported using 19% recycled paper in 2021 (and they use FSC-MIX certification which means 30% of wood can come from uncontrolled forests - read more here) while Nicky and Regina only used 7.3% recycled material.
While Cushelle is linked to rapid amounts of deforestation in the Canadian Boreal forest.
The benefits of individual wrapping
Who Gives A Crap toilet rolls come loose in a recycled cardboard box so they have individually wrapped each roll in paper to ensure it is hygienic and doesn’t get damaged by moisture.
Personally, I find it quite useful because I want to buy in bulk to reduce my carbon footprint from shipping but do not have the storage space to keep it inside the box.
Because I’m neurodivergent, I lack the executive dysfunction to stay on top of tasks that require planning and organisation. Buying in bulk makes sustainable shopping much more convenient for me.
As we use reusable wipes and part-time family cloth, the 48 loo rolls will be sat there for many months gathering dust. I like knowing the rolls are protected and not covered in dust mites (which I’m allergic to) by the time I get to them.
I also love the vibrance of the Happy TP wrappers. WGAC said they wanted to boost customers’ moods and it’s hard not to be cheered up by cute dogs.
As you can see from my photos, my kids love them too. They actually love them a little bit too much and I have to hide them.
The downside of individual wrapping
The downside of WGAC’s wrappers is that it’s kinda wasteful.
Obviously, it’s recyclable and you can save the wrapping paper for crafts if you have kids, or for wrapping presents at Christmas, but not everyone wants to do this.
I think they’d make more customers happier if they were given a choice between wrapped and unwrapped.
6. Is toilet paper bleached?
Yes, toilet paper is typically bleached for two reasons (and I’ll get to them in a second).
But before you freak out, let’s learn HOW it’s bleached first.
Remember that bleach doesn’t = chlorine.
The definition of bleach by Oxford is to make something white or much lighter.
The sun bleaches away stains, toothpaste has bleaching agents to whiten your teeth, and washing powder contains sodium percarbonate (oxygen bleach) to whiten your clothes.
Then there’s white bread, sugar, and table salt that’s been bleached, too.
So when something is bleached, it isn’t necessarily bad or harmful.
I like to know all the facts, so I did a deep dive into how toilet roll is whitened and what substances are used.
Why is toilet paper bleached?
You might have assumed that toilet paper is bleached to make it whiter, but that isn’t the main reason.
During manufacturing, the pulp is bleached to remove lignin - a glue that holds the tree fibres together and makes them sturdy.
Bleach-free processes are mechanical and do NOT remove the lignin, which results in a thin, lower-strength paper, like a newspaper. Lignin also adds a yellow colour to the paper.
Unbleached toilet paper that contains lignin will not be as absorbent and it is more likely to clog your pipes.
Of course, toilet paper is also bleached to change it from brown to white, as this is what most consumers prefer now due to the ‘sparkly white’ marketing by mainstream toilet roll brands.
Is bleaching toilet paper necessary?
There are a few brands offering unbleached toilet paper now.
Some people say it’s absolutely fine once you get past the light brown colour, while other people don’t like it.
I recently asked family members who had made the switch and one couldn’t tell the difference and the other thought it was less soft and wasn’t a fan.
I think the unbleached paper is very much a personal preference.
I can’t comment on how well it breaks down in your pipes or with septic tanks though.
Is chlorine bleach used to whiten toilet paper?
No, chlorine bleach (sodium hypochlorite) is not used to whiten toilet paper.
I’ve seen a few eco-friendly toilet paper brands spreading misinformation in order to scaremonger people into buying their own products instead.
I’m all for natural, non-toxic products, but I don’t like liars or fear-based marketing so here are the facts…
In the 1990s, chlorine gas (called elemental chlorine) was used to bleach the pulp and whiten toilet paper. This was phased out because it’s highly toxic and creates a carcinogenic byproduct called “dioxin” which is harmful to the environment.
By 2012, 98% of manufacturing was free from elemental chlorine and two much safer and more environmentally friendly alternatives of bleaching were used: Total Chlorine Free (TCP) and Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF). (statistic source - Nouryon).
Keep reading for a breakdown of what these methods involve and how recycled and bamboo paper are whitened.
Glossary of bleaching methods
Totally Chlorine Free (TCF) - toilet roll that is bleached with hydrogen peroxide
Process Chlorine Free (PCF) - recycled toilet paper that was bleached without chlorine, but may have been bleached with chlorine the first time it was made
Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF) - toilet roll bleached with chlorine dioxide, a compound that is far safer than elemental chlorine gas
Does recycled toilet paper need bleaching?
Recycled toilet roll was very likely bleached when it was made the first time around, but due to the paper coming from different sources and the glues that are used, it is still brown in appearance.
Hydrogen peroxide is a very effective way of bleaching recycled toilet paper that involves no chlorine.
It is eco-friendly, non-toxic, and used in popular products, like toothpaste.
Who Gives A Crap whitens its 100% recycled toilet roll with hydrogen peroxide.
Is bamboo toilet paper bleached?
Bamboo grows 30 times faster than trees and does not require toxic pesticides to grow, which makes it a sustainable replacement for tree pulp.
Because it is a plant, it still contains lignin (the tree ‘glue’ that makes it stiff). So to ensure it's soft and absorbent, bamboo toilet roll gets bleached by one of two methods.
Some bamboo brands say that their product is unbleached, but they may be confused by the terminology and what they mean is that their product is bleached using TCF.
Only a small percentage of toilet roll is bleached using no chlorine at all because the product created is of lower quality and production requires more energy for a small yield.
The most popular method to make it soft and absorbent is the Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF) method.
ECF involves bleaching pulp with a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and chlorine dioxide.
Don’t be misled by the fact that ‘elemental chlorine’ and ‘chlorine dioxide’ share a word in common. The chemistries of the two compounds are totally different.
Here are a few ways that ECF is different to the old-school chlorine gas method:
ECF doesn’t create any harmful or carcinogenic substances (like dioxins)
Water is treated and safe before being released into watercourses
Chlorine dioxide breaks down within minutes in the air and rapidly in water, so it’s not present in the final product
Chlorine dioxide is used to treat drinking water
Why bleach with chlorine dioxide when there is a totally chlorine-free alternative?
What is interesting and surprising is that Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF) is considered more environmentally friendly than Totally Chlorine Free. In fact, most manufacturers don’t like to use TCF anymore.
This is because the Totally Chlorine Free method produces weaker fibres, a lower yield and higher energy requirements.
Weaker fibres mean consumers are less satisfied with the final product so some factories in Europe have closed down.
According to the manufacturer Stora Enso, chlorine dioxide doesn’t create dioxins and is free from any toxic substances when it’s been treated and released back into watercourses.
Is Who Gives A Crap toilet paper bleached?
Yes, it is. Who Gives A Crap’s 100% recycled paper is whitened using hydrogen peroxide. It is Totally Chlorine Free.
The bamboo toilet paper is bleached using hydrogen peroxide and chlorine dioxide (Elemental Chlorine Free) to ensure it is soft and absorbent.
If you’d prefer to avoid any kind of chlorine, then recycled paper is your best bet, but if you’d prefer softer paper then opt for bamboo.
WGAC has provided a breakdown of how its paper is produced here.
7. What type of paper is Who Gives A Crap recycled range made from?
Who Gives A Crap makes their toilet paper from recycled school and office paper from places that are local to the mother roll factory.
Not having to ship raw resources from multiple places to the factory via carbon-heavy trucks or boats, significantly reduces their carbon emissions.
8. Does recycled toilet paper contain BPA?
You may have heard that Bisphenol A, also called BPA, has been found inside recycled toilet paper.
This is because a large number of paper products, such as receipts, shipping labels, and food packaging has a special thermal coating that contains BPA as a colour developer.
This has found its way into recycled paper products.
What is BPA?
BPA is a toxic chemical that mimics hormones and impacts reproduction. It can be absorbed through the skin, but this route of absorption has not been flagged as a concern due to receipt papers not being handled that often for most people.
There have been no studies on BPA from toilet rolls, so there is no way to know the impact.
But it has been found that BPA absorbed through the skin takes longer to excrete (at least twice as long, but possibly more).
What we do know is flushing paper with BPA down the toilet contaminates local water sources and impacts the reproduction of wildlife instead. And let’s not forget the sewage-dumping crisis in the UK… lots of sewage enters our waterways raw and untreated.
Is Who Gives A Crap toilet paper BPA-free?
Yes, Who Gives A Crap says their recycled toilet paper is BPA-free because they do not use thermal paper.
By sourcing the paper for their recycled range from schools and offices, they can guarantee their toilet roll is not contaminated with BPA.
Of course, there is always going to be a minor risk, but due to the nature of their suppliers, it seems this risk is very low.
Unfortunately, most other recycled toilet paper manufacturers don’t even mention that BPA could be in their product.
9. Cost Comparison
Who Gives A Crap toilet paper lasts a long time, but not just because you buy it in bulk. It also has more sheets per roll than other brands.
The downside to buying in bulk is it costs more upfront. So I decided to calculate how it compares to mainstream brands.
How much is Who Gives A Crap toilet paper?
100% Recycled toilet roll
24 rolls = £28
48 rolls = £44
There are 400 sheets (3 ply) and the cost per 100 sheets (for a 48 pack) is 23p
Check prices are still accurate
Premium bamboo
24 rolls = £30
48 rolls = £48
There are 370 sheets (3 ply) and the cost per 100 sheets (for a 48 pack) is 27p
Check prices are still accurate
11. How does the cost of WGAC paper compare to other toilet paper brands?
Make sure you check the sheet number and don’t fall for the “price per unit” which is how supermarkets, like Asda and Morrisons, label toilet roll. As you can see, buying in bulk does not actually save you money with most mainstream brands due to the smaller sheet numbers. I have focused on Tesco as its the most popular food shop in the UK.
Products made using deforestation:
Andrex Supreme quilts at Amazon (48 pack, 160 sheets) = £0.47/100 sheets
Andrex gentle clean at Tesco (24 pack, 170 sheets) = £0.47/100 sheets
Andrex gentle clean at Tesco (9 pack, 255 sheets) = £0.32/100 sheets
Andrex classic clean at Tesco (18 pack, 300 sheets) = £0.30/100 sheets
Andrex classic clean at Tesco (9 pack, 190 sheets) = £0.36/100 sheets
Cushelle tubeless at Tesco (8 pack, 360 sheets) = £0.43/100 sheets
Tesco luxury soft (4 rolls, 220 sheets) = £0.20/100 sheets
Sainsbury’s softer classic (16 rolls, 190 sheets ) = £0.23/100 sheets
Products made from eco-friendly materials:
Cheeky Panda bamboo (48 rolls, 200 sheets) = £0.42/100 sheets
Bumboo unwrapped (48 rolls, 300 sheets) = £0.29/100 sheets
Bamboo Bobbi (48 rolls, 200 sheets) = £0.37/100 sheets
Ecoleaf recycled at Ethical Superstore (9 rolls, 240 sheets) = £0.34/100 sheets
Naked Sprout recycled/bamboo (48 rolls, 320 sheets) = £0.26/100 sheets
Tesco eco recycled (6 rolls, 2 ply, 330 sheets) = £0.17/100 sheets
Sainsbury’s recycled (9 rolls, 220 sheets) = £0.18/100 sheets
Why is supermarket toilet roll cheaper?
As you can see, the supermarket’s own-brand recycled paper offers the lowest-budget options.
While the thin quality may contribute to this, the fact they cut corners on ethics and turn a blind eye to exploitation can’t be ignored.
Having one line of recycled toilet roll isn’t good enough when they produce toilet roll and other products, like factory-farmed meat sourced from Moy Park/JBS) using deforestation, too.
Selling one eco-friendly range alongside many other harmful products is greenwashing.
Big corporations are also well-known for putting independent companies out of business due to their control over the market and exploitation of their overseas supply chains.
Please note, if that’s all you can afford right now due to the cost of living crisis then please don’t feel guilty. The system is broken and that takes away people’s choices. You can only do your best in your current situation.
12. Conclusion: pros + cons of WGAC
Whether you dislike the individually wrapped toilet rolls or not, you can’t deny that Who Gives A Crap’s marketing has boosted the popularity and consumer knowledge of sustainable toilet roll.
Brands like Cushelle have been linked to 1 million acres of deforestation a year in the Canadian Boreal forest which holds more carbon than any other forest.
This beautiful forest is home to 600 indigenous communities and a variety of wildlife, yet ranks third globally in terms of deforestation.
Choosing sustainable toilet roll means you aren’t financially supporting this.
To conclude this review of Who Gives A Crap, I’m going to summarise the pros and cons so you can decide if they’re for you.
Who Gives A Crap - Pros
✅Buying in bulk is cost-effective, working out at 23p 100sheets for recycled toilet paper and 27p per for bamboo
✅Helps customers move away from virgin paper produced by deforestation
✅Recycled paper is whitened with a Totally Chlorine Free process
✅WGAC is BPA-free
✅Recycled kitchen roll is made in the UK
✅If you’re in the US, you can get locally-produced recycled toilet paper
✅They also sell reusable kitchen cloths (reusables are always the most sustainable choice)
✅All products are vegan-friendly
✅Recommended by Ethical Consumer Magazine, receiving a best buy award
✅WGAC’s main ethical value is their social impact -they’ve donated over $11 million towards building toilets in developing countries
Who Gives A Crap - Cons
❌Toilet paper is manufactured in China, although, WGAC has addressed this and raised some good points about it reducing their carbon footprint as bamboo is from China anyway
❌Toilet paper that’s individually wrapped with bamboo paper is not what everyone wants
❌A strip of plastic tape to seal the box
❌ No option for unwhitened toilet paper
Should you buy Who Gives A Crap?
According to the Environmental Paper Network, recycled paper has just one-third of the carbon emissions of paper made from virgin wood.
When you include the lack of deforestation too, you can be sure that Who Gives A Crap rates highly for sustainability.
At the same time, WGAC has acknowledged that they don’t have the lowest carbon footprint of all toilet paper brands.
From the beginning, they have been more focused on improving the lives of people without basic sanitation and to do this without any investors, they had to base their manufacturing in China.
Now that their business is growing, they have begun expanding their manufacturing in the UK, US, and Australia.
What it all boils down to is whether you want to support a social cause with your purchase or opt for the brand with the smallest carbon footprint.
You can read more about deforestation and the impact of paper products in the 2020 NRDC report, The Issue With Tissue 2.0.
Will you be giving Who Gives A Crap toilet paper a go?