Scorecard grades toilet paper brands in terms of climate change impact
Ben Adler
Ben Adler·Senior Editor
Thu, September 15, 2022 at 5:58 PM·6 min read
Americans use an estimated 36.5 billion rolls of toilet paper every year and the average consumer will go through the equivalent of 384 trees just for toilet paper in the course of a lifetime. Deforestation causes a range of environmental problems, including loss of wildlife habitats and biodiversity. It also contributes to climate change, since trees absorb and store carbon dioxide, which is the most common greenhouse gas.
Amid a growing interest in which brands use the best sustainability practices, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), an environmental advocacy organization, analyzed the sourcing of the largest brands of toilet paper, facial tissue and paper towels on the U.S. market. Its resulting scorecard, released on Wednesday, gives failing sustainability grades to most of the biggest household names.
The four-largest name brands in the country — Angel Soft, Charmin, Cottonelle, and Quilted Northern — all received an F.
“As this year’s scorecard shows, the largest tissue brands in America are failing the climate, communities, and biodiversity by continuing to create their products from forests like the Canadian boreal, which stores more carbon than any other terrestrial ecosystem,” wrote NRDC’s Ashley Jordan in a blog post explaining the ratings. The largest brands, she added, are made “almost exclusively from virgin forest fiber and fail to avoid sourcing from primary forests.”
Virgin forest fiber refers to any wood that has been cut down and used for the first time. Since cutting down trees releases the carbon dioxide stored within them, recycled paper has a much lower carbon footprint, as it only creates emissions from the energy used to manufacture and transport it. Tissues made from recycled paper create one-third of the carbon emissions of tissue made from virgin wood, according to the Environmental Paper Network’s Paper Calculator 4.0.
Of the 58 types of toilet paper scored by NRDC, 12 received either an A or A+ because they are made from post-consumer recycled paper. The vast majority of those are specifically eco-conscious products, including Green Forest, Natural Value, Nature’s Promise, Seventh Generation Soft and Strong, and Marcal 100% Recycled.
Ben Adler
Ben Adler·Senior Editor
Thu, September 15, 2022 at 5:58 PM·6 min read
Americans use an estimated 36.5 billion rolls of toilet paper every year and the average consumer will go through the equivalent of 384 trees just for toilet paper in the course of a lifetime. Deforestation causes a range of environmental problems, including loss of wildlife habitats and biodiversity. It also contributes to climate change, since trees absorb and store carbon dioxide, which is the most common greenhouse gas.
Amid a growing interest in which brands use the best sustainability practices, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), an environmental advocacy organization, analyzed the sourcing of the largest brands of toilet paper, facial tissue and paper towels on the U.S. market. Its resulting scorecard, released on Wednesday, gives failing sustainability grades to most of the biggest household names.
The four-largest name brands in the country — Angel Soft, Charmin, Cottonelle, and Quilted Northern — all received an F.
“As this year’s scorecard shows, the largest tissue brands in America are failing the climate, communities, and biodiversity by continuing to create their products from forests like the Canadian boreal, which stores more carbon than any other terrestrial ecosystem,” wrote NRDC’s Ashley Jordan in a blog post explaining the ratings. The largest brands, she added, are made “almost exclusively from virgin forest fiber and fail to avoid sourcing from primary forests.”
Virgin forest fiber refers to any wood that has been cut down and used for the first time. Since cutting down trees releases the carbon dioxide stored within them, recycled paper has a much lower carbon footprint, as it only creates emissions from the energy used to manufacture and transport it. Tissues made from recycled paper create one-third of the carbon emissions of tissue made from virgin wood, according to the Environmental Paper Network’s Paper Calculator 4.0.
Of the 58 types of toilet paper scored by NRDC, 12 received either an A or A+ because they are made from post-consumer recycled paper. The vast majority of those are specifically eco-conscious products, including Green Forest, Natural Value, Nature’s Promise, Seventh Generation Soft and Strong, and Marcal 100% Recycled.
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