Recycled toilet paper: how green is it, really?

A friend of mine recently posed a delicate question about recycled loo paper, and how it manages to look so white. Doesn't that imply we're putting a whole load of bleach near our nether regions? I remember the first recycled loo paper back in the 90s, and I'm sure I didn't imagine it when I say that you could actually see the letters from the newsprint they'd used to make it! But not so anymore...it's whiter than white these days.

So how do they do it? The answer, as feared, is chemicals. Bleach (sodium hypocholorite) is used by some manufacturers, while others use similarly noxious-sounding chemicals to achieve 'decolouring'. All of these can leak into the water supply, and can make any environmental claims moot. Anna Shepherd of the Times visited a paper mill to get the lowdown on this process, and was told that "The only way of making the paper totally chemical-free would be to sell it in its brownish-grey state. And while there’s nothing wrong with brown bog roll — it flies off the shelves in Germany — I can’t see it taking off here."

I'd say that sticking with the recycled paper is still worthwhile, given that most (a whopping 70 per cent) toilet paper is made from virgin wood pulp. Can there possibly be any need for that, given the job it does? I don't think so...

So let's have a look at those 'murky brown' unbleached papers that are so popular with the Germans. First off, Goodness Direct sell rolls of it here for just £1.51 a pack.

Another option is to go for toilet tissue that is actually made of cotton. This requires no bleaching, and can also be organic, with the added advantage that it's also very soft! You can buy CottonSoft paper, £2.19 for four rolls at EcoTopia.

And one to avoid? Kleenex have a pretty poor track record at the moment, and their products are best avoided: the company refuses to use recycled paper and is contributing to the destruction of ancient North American forests. See Klearcut.net for more info.

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