Tried & Tested Recycled Toilet Paper: Honest Supplies, Serious Tissues & Who Gives A Crap
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Best Recycled Toilet Paper Review
We tested the 3 best recycled toilet papers you can buy in the UK
In this post we do a full review of the best recycled toilet papers that are totally plastic free from our Best Eco-Friendly Toilet Paper shopping guide: Honest Supplies, Serious Tissues and Who Gives a Crap (Recycled). Points will be awarded based on softness and strength, packaging, carbon footprint, charitable giving and value for money. Here's a quick glance at each brand:
Is Recycled Toilet Paper Better?
With 27,000 trees cut down each day, recycled toilet paper is a better option for the environment because it reduces the demand for virgin pulp, which contributes to deforestation. Recycled toilet paper uses less energy and water than producing virgin paper products and therefore less emissions and pollution.
Post-consumer recycled toilet paper
The best type of recycled toilet paper is made from post-consumer paper sources such as magazines, newspapers, cereal boxes etc. and it gives them a second life.
1. HONEST SUPPLIES
100% post consumer recycled materials from the UK. To guarantee what's on the box is in the box, they work closely with manufacturers to achieve FSC and CHSA accreditations. 4 points.
2. SERIOUS TISSUES
They use UK recycled paper such as magazines, newspapers, promotional materials, packaging, boxes and office documents etc and their manufacturer is FSC & CHSA certified. 4 points.
3. WHO GIVES A CRAP
The recycled materials are sourced locally to the WGAC production facilities in China and are primarily sourced from schools. 2 points.
Is there bleach in recycled toilet paper?
Bleached doesn't necessarily mean using chlorine bleach, and none of the brands featured here use chlorine bleach. We take a closer look at if they use alternative methods to whiten their rolls.
1. HONEST SUPPLIES
They don’t use any bleaches to whiten their toilet rolls. So whist they appear white, they are an off white/very light grey colour rather than a stunning white you would get from using Hydrogen Peroxide. 4 points.
2. SERIOUS TISSUES
They use hydrogen peroxide as to whiten their paper which is totally chlorine free. This creates an off-white tone and the colour may still vary from one roll to another since they are made from 100% recycled paper. 3 points.
3. WHO GIVES A CRAP
100% recycled paper whitened using a combo of Hydrogen Peroxide & Oxygen (all completely chlorine free). 3 points.
Carbon Footprint
It is estimated that recycled toilet paper produces at least 30% less carbon emissions when compared to manufacturing processes for traditional loo roll, but is there anything else each brand is doing to further reduce carbon footprint?
1. HONEST SUPPLIES
Honest Supplies are the first carbon negative UK made recycled toilet paper. They offset 200% of their emissions with Ecologi in supporting 2 carbon reduction products every month and in addition to that they also plant 250 trees for every tonne of recycled pulp sold. 4 points.
2. SERIOUS TISSUES
Serious Tissues are carbon neutral by offsetting all their emissions. They undertook a full business carbon footprint calculation working out the emissions of every roll (388 gCO2e) to ensure they make no net release of carbon. They also have a substantial tree planting program which is in addition to offsetting, with a tree planted for every roll, meaning a box of 36 rolls plants 36 trees! 3 points.
3. WHO GIVES A CRAP
WGAC sea freight to each country (AU, EU, UK & USA) and distribute from there. They have carbon neutral shipping, which means shipping from the factory all the way to you is completely carbon neutral. Essentially they pay for carbon offsets that are equal to all carbon produced in shipping. Find out more here. 2 points.
Softness & Strength
Four people completed a touch and feel test, asking each of them to rank from first to last in terms of softness, strength and overall first impressions. Here's the scores with full results below:
1. SERIOUS TISSUES
Nabbing the top spot for 2 people and with a total of 14 points for its overall softness and thickness, but also the aesthetic people most preferred as it has quite a luxury looking diamond print.
2. HONEST SUPPLIES
A close second with 12 points was Honest Supplies 3-ply paper which has a swan print and was a strong contender, the 2-ply came last with 4 points purely because of thinness, however did you know plumbers even recommend 1-ply as it breaks down the fastest to prevent clogging pipes?
3. WHO GIVES A CRAP (RECYCLED)
10 points, everyone commented on the softness of WGAC, but what let it down was the sheets were about 15% smaller than the others and the print wasn't as luxury looking with a classic spotted print.
| Family Member (Age) | 1st (4 points) | 2nd (3 points) | 3rd (2 points) | 4th (1 point) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | Serious Tissues | Honest Supplies | WGAC | Honest Supplies 2ply |
| 42 | Honest Supplies | Serious Tissues | WGAC | Honest Supplies 2ply |
| 54 | WGAC | Serious Tissues | Honest Supplies | Honest Supplies 2ply |
| 35 | Serious Tissues | Honest Supplies | WGAC | Honest Supplies 2ply |
Overall the results were pretty close, with each brand nabbing at least one top spot. It seems we are all used to the thickness of 3-ply toilet papers more than 2-ply but for those looking for a loo roll that breaks down very easily the 2-ply is still a great option.
Packaging
All three brands are 100% plastic free and have recyclable cardboard shipping boxes.
1. HONEST SUPPLIES
Naked loo rolls in a fully recycled cardboard box sealed with paper tape. 4 points.
2. SERIOUS TISSUES
Naked loo rolls in a fully recycled cardboard box. 4 points.
3. WHO GIVES A CRAP (RECYCLED)
All WGAC's rolls are individually wrapped in paper. They say it keeps all the rolls nice and clean and really works to push the message out there - thus helping them build more toilets (more on this below). All of these are packaged in a recycled cardboard box.
WGAC also has this to say about them: "Long story short, we have to wrap our rolls in something to keep them moisture-free and hygienic. We could wrap 6 rolls together (that’s the limit), but we’d need to use a much thicker paper. The net paper used (by weight) to wrap a 6 pack in heavy duty paper vs. six individual rolls in the thin tissue paper we use is effectively the same. It’s either this or plastic — and we hate plastic." 2 points.
Social Impact
All three loo roll brands are making a positive impact. By simply buying an everyday essential means you'll be helping their efforts go even further. Here's who they're supporting:
1. WHO GIVES A CRAP
We've got to hand it to WGAC, they've been donating 50% of their profits to help build toilets since they started in 2013. To date they've donated over 5 million pounds to their amazing partners and they're also a Certified B Corp. 4 points.
2. SERIOUS TISSUES
They're a founding member of the Queen's Green Canopy, a UK reforestation project to mark Her Majesty's platinum jubilee and address the UK’s position as Europe’s most deforested country. They supported the No Butts campaign in 2022 by popping a #No Butts flyer in with orders to help identify the early symptoms of bowel cancer. Most recently they released The Kamasutree, a complete guide to tree loving, made from 100% recycled materials (of course) and made to inspire and highlight that toilet paper can be made without cutting down trees. 3 points.
3. HONEST SUPPLIES
Honest Supplies support many campaigns on social media, sharing sustainable news from across the world, important environmental stats and support for national and global campaigns. 2 points.
Value for Money
Let's compare all three brands to the most bought toilet paper brand in the UK for comparison. Andrex Supreme Quilts 3-ply 16 roll pack costs £11.85 and has 160 sheets per roll. It works out at 46p per 100 sheets. All three come way below this.
WCAG score 4 points for coming in cheapest, however their sheet size is a bit smaller than the others. Serious Tissues score 3 points for being second cheapest and Honest Supplies not far behind with 2 points. Honest Supplies also do a cheaper 2-ply roll (28p / 100 sheets) but for fairness we've just compared the 3-ply.
The Final Verdict
Here are the final points for all three recycled toilet paper brands based on softness and strength, packaging, carbon footprint, charitable giving and value for money. What will you go for?
Looking for a toilet paper that isn't listed? Check out our Best Eco-Friendly Toilet Paper shopping guide for the full list.
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