Toilet Paper and Global Warming

The Tissue Issue

by Rita Foung

According to a recent article in the New York Times, Americans like ultra-soft toilet tissue, and the U.S. is the largest market worldwide for it. The problem lies in the fact that in order for us to enjoy premium soft toilet tissues like Cottonelle Ultra, Quilted Northern Ultra or Charmin Ultra, manufacturers must take fiber from standing trees - millions of standing trees in North America, South America and Canada.

Manufacturers, such as Kimberly Clark and Procter & Gamble, do this because fiber from standing trees is longer than fiber from recycled material. The long fibers can be laid out and fluffed, thus making a much softer tissue. Though they take a percentage from tree farms, the rest is from old, second-growth forests, thereby destroying natural carbon-dioxide absorbers, and, consequently, aiding in the progression of global warming.

Not only that, environmentalists quickly point out that the manufacturers’ process requires the use of more water and the use of damaging chlorine-based bleach. In addition, their process produces more waste which undoubtedly ends up in a landfill.

Environmental organizations like BREATHE LA, Greenpeace and the Natural Resource Defense Council, are taking heed, and some are pushing even more for Americans to use toilet paper made from recycled paper. Some groups have reached out to Major League Baseball to spread the word through public events and guides, to make awareness of the tissue issue as mainstream as energy efficient light bulbs and other green products have become.

In today’s economy, when the price of recycled paper is down and Americans are not only downshifting, but are increasingly more aware of global warming, Marcal, the oldest recycled-paper maker in the country, plans to introduce a new tissue that will be priced below conventional and ultra soft brands. Tim Spring, the new chief executive of Marcal, says, “Our idea is that you don’t have to spend extra money to save the Earth. And people want to know what happens to the paper they recycle. This will give them closure.” Now is the time to make that change.