Everything you wanted to know about bamboo toilet paper
I’m sure you remember the absolute craze of the Great Toilet Paper Shortage of 2020. Rolls were flying off the shelf in the panic with no spare nor quarter given to friend or foe.
But in that panicky rush for smooth wiping material, did you notice a specific subcategory of the papery goodness?
I’m talking about bamboo toilet paper here, and this article discusses everything you did or didn’t want to know about it.
Let’s begin!
Bamboo toilet paper, as you might have guessed, is simply toilet paper made from…bamboo! It’s a pretty similar manufacturing process as your everyday ‘normal’ toilet paper.
It just uses bamboo instead of wood pulp or recycled paper.
It just uses bamboo instead of wood pulp or recycled paper.
Yes! Bamboo is a super fast growing grass (yes, grass, not tree) that has extremely similar characteristics to normal trees used in manufacturing toilet paper. It’s just way better.
I’m probably a bit biased here, but I feel bamboo toilet paper is simply better than other types.
There’s a few simple reasons for that:
There’s a few simple reasons for that:
- It’s great for the environment — bamboo grows at an incredibly fast rate compared to normal trees. Faster growth means more harvesting which means less land required to strip for forestry.
- It has the same texture and feel as your favorite brands.
- It’s cool to say you use bamboo to wipe your butt at parties.
Most brands of recycled toilet paper aren’t actually made from 100% recycled material. They often use 30–60% material to supplement the usual wood pulp. Why? Because of softness.
100% recycled toilet paper is great for the environment but a common complaint is it isn’t as soft as the luxury ‘normal’ brands out there.
Compare that with bamboo toilet paper and you’ll see it has the same if not slightly improved softness at a comparable level to regular toilet paper.
Plus — it’s great for the environment, just like recycled paper.
100% recycled toilet paper is great for the environment but a common complaint is it isn’t as soft as the luxury ‘normal’ brands out there.
Compare that with bamboo toilet paper and you’ll see it has the same if not slightly improved softness at a comparable level to regular toilet paper.
Plus — it’s great for the environment, just like recycled paper.
Just like most varieties of toilet paper, bamboo toilet paper is also biodegradable. It’s made almost entirely of bamboo wood pulp, which is compostable.
Compared to other kinds of toilet paper, bamboo is better. While it’s only slightly better than 100% recycled toilet paper, it blows past the competition for the regular varieties and non-fully recycled paper.
Bamboo is an incredibly fast growing grass, so the manufacturers require far less land to harvest. Less land means more natural forests to help keep our planet green and natural.
Bamboo is an incredibly fast growing grass, so the manufacturers require far less land to harvest. Less land means more natural forests to help keep our planet green and natural.
Bamboo toilet paper is almost always considered just as soft as regular toilet paper. When comparing it to recycled paper, most people think bamboo is significantly softer.
Of course! Bamboo toilet paper is septic safe and hardly ever contributes to blocking toilets. If you would feel comfortable flushing your everyday regular toilet paper, then bamboo toilet paper is no different.
Once foresters collect the fast-growing bamboo and ship it off to the manufacturing plants, it’s broken down into basic fibers. The fibers are then added to a mixture and processed to create a bamboo pulp.
After this, the pulp is soaked, pressed, and formed into what we call toilet paper.
The paper is then dried out in super long sheets until they reach the perfect moisture level. After that, they’re rolled up and packaged so we can enjoy them in our homes.
It’s a very similar process to regular toilet paper — except it comes from a much more environmentally friendly source material.
After this, the pulp is soaked, pressed, and formed into what we call toilet paper.
The paper is then dried out in super long sheets until they reach the perfect moisture level. After that, they’re rolled up and packaged so we can enjoy them in our homes.
It’s a very similar process to regular toilet paper — except it comes from a much more environmentally friendly source material.
Thanks for reading! If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.
Happy wiping!
Want to explore more bamboo products? Check our our bamboo blinds FAQ or our bamboo pillow FAQ.