Greener toilet paper options are hitting the market. But will they make a difference?

Toilet paper is a waste of Canada’s boreal forest, a U.S. environment group says. And now, more green options are hitting the market, according to its latest tissue and toilet paper report card.

But will choosing them make a difference? The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), as well as forestry researchers and industry spokespeople, say there are a few things to consider when you buy and use toilet paper.

What’s the issue with tissue?

NRDC scored 145 tissue products made for at-home use, in three categories: toilet paper, paper towels and facial tissue. It focuses most on toilet paper. 

“Toilet paper is the ultimate disposable product. It’s something that we use for just a few seconds and then [throw] away forever,” said Ashley Jordan, co-author of NRDC’s latest edition of its annual Issue with the Tissue report.

Most toilet paper — not just in Canada but also in the U.S. — is made with pulp that “overwhelmingly” comes from the Canadian boreal forest, NRDC says.

And given that it is the world’s largest remaining intact forest, Jordan said, valuable as both wildlife habitat and a major carbon store and sink, that’s an “egregious use of our natural resources,” she said.

While trees are generally replanted in Canada’s boreal forest after harvesting, logging results in forest degradation in the short term — and Jordan said that impacts the biodiversity of local plants and animals “that can take decades to come back from.”

What options scored as greener this year?

Sixteen brands received an A+ and 22 an A, because they contained high percentages of recycled content. That could include paper manufacturing waste such as trimming and scraps, but brands that used post-consumer waste from recycling programs got a higher score, for diverting waste from landfills.

Recycled paper, in general, “is going to have one-third of the carbon footprint and require half as much water to produce as forest fibre options,” Jordan said.

Another 28 brands received a B or B+, largely for content consisting of 100 per cent bamboo certified by the Germany-based Forest Stewardship Council, which is considered the most rigorous eco-certification for forest products. Bamboo is often considered more sustainable than other trees because it grows faster.

Whole Foods Market’s “365 by Whole Foods Market, 100% Recycled” toilet paper, available in Canadian Whole Foods stores, landed one of the top scores. The other top-scoring brands were largely only available in the U.S.

Meanwhile, Kimberly-Clark, which produces brands such as Cottonelle and Kleenex, received credit for an ambitious new policy released this year to avoid deforestation as well as forest degradation from its supply chains. The company also says it wants to remove natural forest fibre across all its products.

NRDC has long advocated for industries to adopt practices that help conserve the Canadian boreal forest. Its first toilet paper report in 2019 showed the three major U.S. toilet paper companies — Georgia Pacific, Kimberly-Clark and Procter & Gamble — largely relied on virgin forest fibres rather than recycled materials.

Six years on, one brand from Georgia Pacific has scored a top rating — because it is made completely from recycled paper — and Kimberly-Clark has risen up in the rankings because of its new policies.

Jordan said it’s a reflection of consumer demand: “To keep up in this marketplace, brands are going to need to be able to really tick both of those boxes of softness and sustainability.”

Do others agree on toilet paper’s negative impact?

The industry and many forestry researchers appear to fundamentally disagree with the NRDC’s views on forest management in Canada. They instead argue that Canadian forests are handled in a way that ensures their long-term sustainability, and that their wood products are renewable.

Harvesting and replanting forests enables them to “restart the carbon storing cycle,” said Derek Nighbor, president and CEO of the Forest Products Association Canada industry group.

He added that toilet paper is made from leftover wood chips that are getting older. As they age, they face pest and disease risks, and pose increasing forest fire risks, he said, and aren’t adequate for making lumber or other building materials.

Mathew Leitch, a forestry professor at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ont., agrees, saying forestry in Canada uses the entire tree.

“Whether it’s primary or if it’s leftover from lumber production, it comes from sustainable forestry practices in this country,” he said.

Leitch pointed out that forestry companies are motivated to replant what they cut, to continue doing business. 

Doing that replanting correctly is key to reducing impacts on forests, says Rafaella Mayrinck, a professor at the University of New Brunswick specializing in silviculture, or the science of growing and regenerating forests.

She said young, replanted forests absorb carbon faster than mature forests, but take a long time to store as much carbon as a mature one.

Logging also disturbs forest plants and animals.  But with growing research and efforts by companies to achieve sustainability targets, that degradation can be minimized.

“People won’t stop producing toilet paper because we need that,” she said.

“We need to find a balance … and also disturb the forest as little as we can.”

Are recycled products and bamboo really better?

For its report, the NRDC relied on data from the Environmental Paper Network, which show that products containing recycled paper generally have a lower carbon and water footprint.

But whether that means they are greener depends on a number of factors, such as the availability of locally recycled paper, said Mayrinck, who has previously worked in the pulp and paper industry.

That could influence, for instance, how much fuel is used to transport or shop the recycled paper to manufacturing facilities.

She also noted that paper can only be recycled so many times, as the fibres get shorter and therefore weaker each time. For that reason, most recycled toilet paper is mixed with new material.

Recycled materials can also result in a different paper texture, said Leitch, from Lakehead University.

“Some people don’t really like the recycled toilet paper because it’s not that soft,” he said. “Maybe [manufacturers] can improve on that.”

As for bamboo, it is grown in warmer parts of the world that may have different rules around sustainability. Everyone interviewed said the way it’s cultivated makes a difference. Both Leitch and Jordan suggested looking for FSC certification, which Jordan said is worth looking for in any kind of toilet paper you buy.

What should consumers consider?

“These products are driven by supply and demand,” Leitch said, and if consumers demand toilet paper from recycled paper, “companies will follow suit.” He thinks that isn’t happening on a mass scale yet.

But Jordan said there has been movement toward greener options in the past six years she has worked on the scorecard. Nearly half of the 61 brands graded this year, including many smaller brands, got an A or B.

“So there are a lot of sustainable options being made available.”