Do we want toilet paper to be soft or good for the environment?
Monday, January 4, 2010
Some environmental groups have asked manufacturers to stop using wood from virgin forests to make tissue products, including toilet paper. The alternative — using recycled paper — produces a less plush product.
“They’ll take my Ultra Soft Charmin only when they pry it from my cold, dead, aloe-smelling hands.”
Highly doubtful it will come to that. Please, sit.
We’re talking about toilet paper. Charlton Heston’s famous vow was of guns.
The issue over tissue in the bathroom — the really super-soft stuff — is more like the fight about the big SUVs loved by many Americans.
Anti-green, environmentalists say. Politically incorrect. Why should Americans use luxurious toilet paper made from old-growth trees when much of the world gets by with a far more basic and often recycled product?
Why should we flush redwoods, so to speak?
So Greenpeace, the Natural Resources Defense Council and other environmental groups have pushed manufacturers such as Kimberly-Clark (Cottonelle) and Procter & Gamble (Charmin) to stop using wood from virgin forests to make tissue products.
Mountains of paper are dumped every day into recycling bins in homes, offices, factories and schools. Use that to make toilet paper, the activists say.
Time to roll out the big number: If each American family would buy one recycled roll just one time, it would save 400,000 trees, allegedly.
The problem, though, is that each time paper is shredded during the recycling process, its fibers get shorter. The shorter the fiber, the less soft the tissue. And Americans, though saying in surveys that they embrace green initiatives, also say they don’t want to sacrifice comfort.
“The truth is that other parts of the world are further along in using recycled content,” said Kay Jackson, spokeswoman for Kimberly-Clark. “The American consumer still wants softness, and they are speaking with their pocketbooks.”
Pulling back in a competitive market is asking a lot, manufacturers say. They also point out that only 5 percent of forest-industry production goes toward toilet paper.
Darby Hoover, a senior resource specialist with the Natural Resources Defense Council, understands the pressure of customer demand but wonders: Do we really need toilet paper to be as soft as it can be or do we need it just soft enough?
Environmentalists say that other countries — particularly in South America, Africa and Asia — seem to be OK with “soft enough.”
Greenpeace has come up with a “toilet paper guide” for consumers on which brands are environmentally friendly. The criteria are recycled content and the use of chlorine bleaches, chlorine having been identified with its own ecological ills.
“When you’re doing your grocery shopping or just stopping by the corner store to grab a roll of toilet paper, make an informed decision as both a consumer and someone concerned about the world’s ancient forests,” the guide says.
Probably no surprise that brands with names such as Green Forest, 365, Earth Friendly, Natural Value and Seventh Generation scored the highest on the Greenpeace scale.
Bringing up the rear: Charmin, Cottonelle, Angel Soft, and, of course, Quilted Northern, which sounds thick enough to keep someone warm on a cold night in Minnesota.
Some manufacturers say they are taking steps to become more environmentally friendly. More wood is from sustainable forests, and they are trying to up their recycled content.
Critics, though, such as NRDC senior scientist Allen Hershkowitz, point out that many of the reforms apply only to the professional market — schools, business, theaters, stadiums and restaurants.
Home is another tissue. There, many Americans still insist on the pillowy soft of virgin fibers.
Lisa Jester at P&G said the company is committed to the environment and takes seriously its responsibility to help ensure sustainability of the world’s forest resources.
“All the fiber we use comes from sources that practice sustainable forestry,” she said. “That means that the trees are regrown or replanted and the soil, water and biodiversity are protected.”
But environmentalists say old trees are still being cut down when recycling alternatives exist. And it’s not just about trees, they say. It’s about carbon dioxide and ecosystems necessary to wildlife.
“The large old trees are the ones that do the most good,” said Bill Grotts, program for the Heartland Tree Alliance, which is part of Kansas City’s Bridging the Gap.
“They absorb the most water because they have more leaf area and provide the most cooling effect.”
To him and others, that’s the bottom line.
Comments
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Tim (Tim Lamb) says...
I'll trade a tree for comfort any day.
Wipe away, and support the timber industry!
January 4, 2010 at 4:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Webfoot (Dennis Webb) says...
It's just like those "Tree Huggin Environmentalists" to Jump into a "CRAPY" controversy like this!!
January 4, 2010 at 5:22 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Tim (Tim Lamb) says...
I just want the most wipes for my dollar, but this is America, and if my mother wants to pay for softness by golly she should have it.
Pass around the whoopin' sticks boys, these tree huggers have gone too far this time, messin' with our TP! What's next? Ohhh, I shudder at the prospects!
January 4, 2010 at 9:26 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sas (Sheila Shepardson) says...
I've solved some of the problem; I use cloth toilet paper for most of my needs and wish I could convert everyone to this. They get disinfected by soaking in a disinfectant and I use tea tree oil in every load of laundry. Found out about this on a group and tried it(11 months ago) and would not willingly go back. I keep a 1000 sheet roll of BJ's brand on the holder for those that want it. I have cut down on at least15 rolls per year. That is just me. Multiply that by "how many people" and it could save a lot.
January 11, 2010 at 6:49 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sas (Sheila Shepardson) says...
Forgot to add...cloth toilet paper is really soft.
January 11, 2010 at 6:51 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
desertrat (Catherine Stiles) says...
My plumbing is old and cranky and it DOES NOT like soft fluffy toilet paper. So neither do I!!
January 11, 2010 at 10:16 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mavulous (mav ulous) says...
This article is entirely misleading, imo, because it leads one to believe that virgin growth timber might be harvested solely for the purpose of manufacturing TP. That is simply outrageous! High quality old-growth timber commands the highest price in the market for a variety of uses--the very least of which is TP. TP is the substance of sawdust and other waste materials generated in the milling process, but it certainly isn't the main reason why the timber is being harvested in the first place. The highest price offered by the market takes trees in the direction of lumber for construction applications and other finished products such as kitchen cabinets, tables and chairs, and other home furnishings and trims. I can guarantee you that TP is pretty close to the bottom--pun intended--of the pricing mechanism and it gets waste wood fibers and that's all. Waste wood fibers used to make waste paper.
Greenpeace and the NRDC have always been about fear and confusion. The substance of truth is not important to them. Their goals are to influence public opinion in an effort to steer policymakers in the direction of their environmental agendas. This article is one such prime example because it is entirely misleading.
January 11, 2010 at 12:05 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mavulous (mav ulous) says...
>I've solved some of the problem; I use cloth toilet paper for most of my needs and wish I could convert everyone to this.<
Good grief, if you want to go to all that trouble, why not install a bidet? No more paper of any kind. No more cloth to disinfect either.
January 11, 2010 at 12:13 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
David123 (David 123) says...
I think mav has the point in hand. No one is really falling Giant Sequoias to get toilet paper. "Hey Bob, how many rolls of toilet paper will this big bad boy 400 yr old seqouia produce?"
"I dunno, get a saw and we'll see.. "
From wikipedia:
"As of 2009, between 25% and 50% of the toilet paper used in the United States comes from tree farms in the U.S. and South America, with most of the rest coming from second growth forests, and only a small percentage coming from virgin forests."
Instead of Greenpeace simply advocating recycled TP for everyone, they should be campaigning for a majority of TP to come from tree farms for home use. That way, they don't sound have to sound completely crazy and radical. And I'm assuming trees farms, in their mind, are a renewable resource.
If they would advocate bumping up the current tree farm TP supply from 50%, up to 75% for homes and get the other 25% of the TP from recycled sources (for non-home places like stadiums, rest stops, restaurants, etc)..I think it's a compromise most people could live with.
January 11, 2010 at 1:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mavulous (mav ulous) says...
David, I read your Wiki reference, but here again I don't think they were very clear. The reason 50% of the TP comes from tree farms is because a whole lot of lumber comes from these same tree farms and particularly a whole lot of lumber comes from these same second growth forests as well. The waste fiber produced from all these sources as these tree logs are cut and milled down into dimension lumber and 2 X 4s is where we get the fiber left over for the manufacture of TP. Here again tree farms are harvested for their lumber and not just to make TP. TP is always manufactured from the left overs and the waste fibers generated mostly from converting tree logs into lumber for some kind of construction purpose. Here is a good article that puts it all in perspective. Note that the author is one of the original co-founders of Greenpeace:
http://www.vancouversun.com/technolog...
January 11, 2010 at 2:15 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mavulous (mav ulous) says...
Just look at how misleading this is:
>Why should we flush redwoods, so to speak?<
Perhaps the author would prefer that we burned them instead or maybe have them end up in a landfill? Would that be preferable to making TP out of redwoods?
The whole argument the author presents is framed in such a way as to mislead the reader.
Why didn't Donald Bradley frame his argument in this manner:
►Why should we flush waste fibers from redwoods, so to speak?◄
The reason why lies in the fact that nobody would have cared. Nobody would have bothered to read any further. So, imo, this all comes down to the reputation of Mr. Bradley as well as the integrity of the editor of the McClatchy News. I think both of them should be forced to wipe with cobs for a year. :-D
January 11, 2010 at 2:42 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
EPowers (Elaine M Powers) says...
It is not an either/or choice. There is a middle ground where comfort and environmentally-friendly come together.
The recycled bath tissue manufactured for the “at home” market is much softer than the tissue made for the “away from home” market (such as the paper often found in service stations.)
Green Forest recycled paper offers bath tissue and facial tissues that are the softest of the recycled brands, and our tissue is as soft as many “mainstream” brands. Our products are competitively priced. Green Forest paper is at the top of the Greenpeace guide at www.greenpeace.org/tissueguide.
There is an additional and important benefit to purchasing ANY brand of recycled paper. By doing so, you help create a market for recycling, which “closes the loop” and makes recycling economically possible. This ultimately saves landfill space, and provides other environmental and health benefits.
Green Forest has proven that it is entirely possible to manufacture a high-quality recycled paper that consumers use and enjoy. We invite you to give Green Forest a try. www.greenforestpaper.com
Sincerely,
Elaine M. Powers, Public Affairs Manager
February 4, 2010 at 12:07 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )