This is something that is apparently an almost U.S. supported problem. Will we care as much about our toilet paper’s use on the environment as we do about Nadya Suleman having more babies than she’s allowed?
Our lust for excremental excess exacts a heavy toll on world forests. Since recycled paper can’t come close to mimicking the velvety plushness of the TP types we prefer, paper companies harvest their pulp from millions of trees in North and South American forests. Some of it even comes from rare old-growth forests in Canada. (I like to give our good-natured Northern neighbors as much crap as the next guy, but that’s ridiculous.)
Turning trees into toilet paper also requires more water than recycling, and bleaches and dies used for maximum whiteness create an excess of pollutants that can further damage the environment.READ MORE
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March 1st, 2009 at 10:20 am #
This is why I advocate the use of lotahs. They’re more environmentally sound, and more sanitary than TP. Just one more thing the Global North can learn from the Global South.
March 2nd, 2009 at 6:22 pm #
My hippie dippy organic GMO ann arbor workplace uses Marcal, a TP supposedly made from recycled paper.