Our first purchase... TP

Ok, so when we make exceptions to our no-buying-anything-new rule, we want to research the options. Well we're in the market for some good toilet paper, and no, we’re not re-using it. So what are the options when buying TP, and why should you care? Two major issues to consider:

Uh Oh, time to buy more...

1. Recycled content. It's a no-brainer to buy 100% recycled content toilet paper, and it's not even more expensive. Another thing to look at is post-consumer content. Paper mills produce a lot of waste in the production process, which they re-process and call "recycled content." That would be pre-consumer waste. Post-consumer waste is when they use recycled content from paper that has already been produced, used, and recycled. 80% post-consumer content is pretty good.

2. Chlorine used to make it white? This is one I didn't understand at first, but basically chlorine is incredibly caustic and toxic. It's harmful when used in the bleaching process, and you probably don't want to rub it on your skin. There are better ways to whiten toilet paper than use the most toxic household chemical. Our toilet paper in Tanzania was pink. Not sure why.

Check out this website for more information: http://www.nrdc.org/land/forests/gtissue.asp

So we normally just buy TP from Trader Joe’s, which is chlorine free and 80% post-consumer recycled. Other easy ones are Seventh Generation or Whole Foods brand. Most groceries have this type of TP, but if they don’t then tell them that you want them to carry it!

And on the subject of using paper in general, here is a quote from Bill McDonough that puts the life cycle of paper in perspective:

Imagine designing “something that makes oxygen, sequesters carbon, fixes nitrogen, distills water, accrues solar energy as fuel, makes complex sugars and food, creates microclimates, changes colors with the seasons and self-replicates. Well, why don’t we knock that down and write on it?”

Well, if we're going to use paper, might as well recycle it.