Cloth Toilet Paper

Every day, 27,000 trees are flushed down the toilet, the majority of this paper uses large amounts of bleach and can contain BPA, formaldehyde, or petroleum. Yet, we still wipe our bums with it and pay people to cut down trees for the sake of our “health”, or our “hygiene.”

This may irk you a bit. Don’t worry though, there are other healthier options, but you’re most likely going to have to order them from far away. This can create pollution from transportation, but I say hey, your regular toilet paper also likely has a high transportation carbon footprint, so why not support the sustainable effort as well?

There are various different brands of ethical, sustainable toilet paper. They likely come in packs of 4, or possibly in giant cardboard boxes, depending on which one you choose. Some are made from bamboo to reduce the tree cutting and some are made from recycled paper. No matter what you use though, it is a major waste of materials, specifically for the ladies.

Maybe this is a TMI moment, but -surprise!- women urinate a lot. I know it, you know it, everyone knows it. I’ve gone through an entire roll and a half of toilet paper over the weekend before because I drink a lot and therefore, I urinate a lot.

You know what though? Guys pee and they don’t even wipe, they aren’t taught to wipe either! The extra pee they may have goes straight onto their boxers or briefs. So why should women have to go through roll after roll of toilet paper when we can just use cloths, and wash them later?

This idea is often referred to as “family cloth”, as it is very similar to when you buy reusable diapers for a baby. This time it’s not diapers though, so most cotton cloth will work. Lots of socks are thrown away all the time because nobody can find the matches for them. There are also old shirts you can cut up and make toilet paper out of. Then you just wipe, and toss the cloth into a bin to be washed, and the washing process is simple too; all you do is put it in the washing machine!

Now I’m not saying you must use cloth after you defecate, though it’s not unheard of. However, if you think about the number of times you defecate versus how often you pee, there is likely a big difference. Even if you did just use the cloth for peeing, you would be saving a ton of toilet paper, and therefore, a lot of trees -and if you use that 4 pack of bamboo toilet paper- then your saving even more trees and you don’t have to worry about using the entire pack in a week!

To say this opinion is unpopular is an understatement, most people find it gross and impossible, but be honest, how far out is this idea really? We only developed modern day toilet paper in 1857, before that, most people would wipe their bums with whatever they could find! Or maybe not at all. It wasn’t until someone realized they could profit off selling a universal bum wipe that we got toilet paper, same goes for menstrual pads and diapers. The problem is, this person wanted to keep making money so they tricked us into thinking these things were too gross to clean! Now look at what we have created: menstrual cups, reusable diapers, and finally we’re starting to come to terms with what we fear most; reusable toilet paper.

So what I’m trying to say here is, the use of cloth toilet paper can save a ton of trees, a ton of money, and a ton of fossil fuels. So when you need to tinkle, bring some cloth to wrinkle; disposable toilet paper is so 20th century.