Which Is The Best Plastic-Free Toilet Paper? UK Brands Rated

Looking for the best plastic-free toilet paper? I’ve rated some of the most popular brands in terms of eco-friendliness. Read on!

I get lots of emails a day. Lately, many of them seem to be on the topic of bums. Specifically, on which is the best plastic-free toilet paper for our bums and for the environment. 

I’ve got young kids, so I’m used to speaking about bums on a very regular, sometimes too regular basis. Frankly, it’s refreshing to be asked about the environmental credentials of toilet paper. I’d rather that than field such classic questions as “Mum, why do we fart” and “Mum, where does poo come from”. 

When it comes to loo roll, there’s much more to think about than just how soft a roll is. There are in fact a whole host of environmental and social factors of toilet paper to consider. From what the paper is made of, to where it’s made, how it’s packaged, and how it got to your bathroom. To name but a few.

I’ve done some research though, and been able to find three plastic-free toilet rolls. Let’s dive in and take a look at the environmental credentials of the various plastic-free toilet paper brands available in the UK.

Before you go any further, in May 2021 I published an updated version of this post, rating 16 eco-friendly brands. Do check out my ultimate guide to eco-friendly toilet roll!

Which Is The Best Plastic-Free Toilet Paper?

Greencane Plastic-Free Toilet Paper

Cost: £25.20 for a box of 48 rolls (53p per roll)

UK shipping cost: £4.44

Roll size: 300 sheets of 2-ply paper

Made in/ships from: Southern Asia

Packaged in: Cardboard Box, rolls arrive ‘naked’

Greencane was my first foray into plastic-free toilet paper. I ordered a box at the end of January. I was delighted when, a few days later, a box of 48 toilet rolls arrived unwrapped in a cardboard box. And I loved the fact that the box was sealed with paper tape. In fact, the only plastic that I found was a small bit of plastic on the outside of the box containing the invoice.

The only thing I hadn’t accounted for was the fact that 48 toilet rolls would be arriving on my doorstep. Let’s just say that this is a little bit more than the pack of 9 toilet rolls that I would normally buy. As such, I hadn’t anticipated what 48 rolls would actually look like. 

We had to get a bit creative with where we would store all these toilet rolls. Make this something to consider before you order!

Greencane isn’t the softest toilet paper I’ve ever tried. It’s no 3-ply quilted luxury loo roll. But then again, it’s not scratchy or worse, like tracing paper. It simply does the job perfectly fine, and I’ve had no complaints from any of my family. 

What’s it made of?

Greencane toilet paper is made from a mix of materials. 70% is made from a mix of recycled sugarcane and bamboo fibre (bagasse). This is a byproduct of the sugar refining process. The other 30% is wood pulp, which is added for softness. Greencane says this wood pulp is certified but doesn’t say what this certification is. 

Greencane does bleach its toilet paper to make it white. However, Greencane does say they don’t use chlorine in the bleaching process. Frustratingly, it doesn’t say what they do use in its place. Instead, Greencane ambiguously states that “we believe that the assurance of having ISO14001 Environmental Certification ensure correct and safe bleaching & environmental manufacturing“. 

How long does a box last?

Our box from January is still going strong. And, as of the end of May, we have enough rolls for one to two more weeks. We’re a family of four. In this period we went through potty training our littlest and having builders in for 6 weeks. I’d guess normally a box could last around 5 months in normal circumstances. 

Who Gives A Crap

Cost: £36 for 48 rolls of recycled toilet paper (75p per roll). Alternatively £40 for 48 rolls of bamboo toilet paper (83p per roll)

UK shipping cost: Free over £20

Roll size: 400 sheets of 3-ply paper

Made in/ships from: China

Packaged in: Cardboard Box. Each roll is individually wrapped in paper

In the interests of full disclosure, I haven’t used Who Gives A Crap before, beyond a single roll of recycled toilet paper. This is mostly because I’ve always been pretty sceptical about them. I bought this roll in a bulk shop for what felt like a hugely expensive £1 for a single roll of toilet paper. 

Who Gives A Crap sells two types of plastic-free toilet paper in bulk boxes of 48. The first type is made from virgin bamboo. The other is made from recycled paper. Each roll is individually wrapped in jazzy paper. 

As well as being plastic-free, 50% of Who Gives A Crap profits go to clean water charities. These include WaterAid Australia and WaterAid America.

All Wrapped Up

I know what you’re thinking here – what’s not to love Wendy? I do deeply admire the charitable giving nature of Who Gives A Crap. And of course, I love the plastic-free element. What doesn’t sit well with me is the fact that each roll of toilet paper is individually wrapped. That’s a lot of unnecessary paper from one box of 48 toilet rolls. 

Paper, whilst plastic-free, isn’t environmentally neutral. A recent study showed that a paper bag has to be re-used four times before it’s more environmentally friendly (in terms of carbon emissions) than a plastic bag. People do say they reuse the paper wrappers to light their fires, or to wrap gifts. Yet getting four uses out of each and every toilet paper wrapper is likely to be a stretch. 

Who Gives A Crap says that the individual wrappers are for both hygiene reasons and to keep the paper moisture-free. However, if Greencane can manage it then it feels a bit of a hollow excuse.

Is There More To It?

I had a feeling there was probably more to it, then I found the answer in the Who Gives A Crap FAQ:

“We think they look cute. They work wonders as an online product because they’re eye-catching and shareable. We know this because our customers are constantly sharing snaps of their deliveries on social media, and gifting rolls to friends. This is really important because the more people share what we’re doing, the more we can grow and the more toilet-building and sanitation projects we can fund! (plus, it’s cheaper than paid advertising)“.

So what they are saying is that individually wrapped rolls are a marketing and money-making decision, framed as a fundraising decision. Businesses, have to be profitable to be viable. However, I think other planet-friendly advertising options exist that don’t require every single roll to be individually wrapped in paper.

How long does a box last?  

There is also the argument that because Who Gives A Crap’s plastic-free toilet paper is double-length, you need to buy a lot less. Their loo roll may have a reduced environmental impact in that sense. Indeed, Who Gives A Crap is double-length. 400 sheets compared to EcoLeaf’s 200 sheets, to be precise. Greencane sits in the middle with 300 sheets. 

As I haven’t used Who Gives A Crap beyond one roll, I did a highly scientific poll on Instagram. Here I asked Moral Fibres followers who used Who Gives A Crap a) how big their family is and b) how long a box has lasted them.

I received a load of responses (thank you if you responded). On average a box lasted a family of four around 5-6 months. Maybe an extra month compared to Greencane. However, Greencane is cheaper so perhaps it evens out.

What about the quality?

In terms of quality, I didn’t notice a difference between Who Gives A Crap 3-ply paper, compared to the others, which are all 2-ply. The paper didn’t feel any softer or harder than the others either. After trying multiple types of toilet paper, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s all a much of a muchness in terms of paper quality in the recycled eco-friendly toilet paper sphere. 

Ecoleaf

Cost: £4.39 for 9 rolls (49p per roll) / £21.96 for 45 rolls (49p per roll)

UK shipping cost: £3.95 (also available in shops)

Roll size: 200 sheets of 2-ply paper

Made in/ships from: The UK

Packaged in: Compostable Wrapper

Ecoleaf toilet paper is made in the UK from 100% recycled fibre sourced exclusively from the UK. Suma, the worker’s cooperative that produces Ecoleaf, has a long history of ethical trading. Impressively, Suma also has an equal pay policy for workers. 

What’s it packaged in?

Ecoleaf’s plastic-free toilet paper is available in packs of 9 toilet paper rolls and is packaged in a compostable bag. 

The bag is not home-compostable. You will need to pop it in your kerbside food waste bin if you have one, and your local council allows you to place this type of material in your food waste bin. If your local council does not collect this type of material it will have to go to landfill, where it won’t probably won’t ever compost. 

As well as a pack of 9, you can buy Ecoleaf toilet paper in bulk sizes. Here you can get 45 rolls for £21.96. This is delivered in 5 packs of the 9 rolls. 

Whilst I haven’t bought it in bulk, reviews on both Ethical Superstore and Amazon do mention that the bulk rolls come packaged together in a plastic bag. It would be great if Suma could find a way to do away with this plastic bag, as it does negate the compostable wrapper.

We have only just started using Ecoleaf so I couldn’t tell you how long it lasts. However, I will update this post on our experience in due course. The paper is neither super soft nor scratchy. Again telling the difference between Who Gives A Crap and Greencane, or picking a clear winner, is simply too difficult.

What’s it made of?

The downside to Ecoleaf is that as it made of recycled paper, then, like all recycled paper (including Who Gives A Crap), is that it may contain trace amounts of BPA – bisphenol-A. This is an industrial chemical with potentially negative impacts on health.

Don’t worry though! This article on Grist provides a good and well-balanced overview of why BPA from recycled paper only accounts for 2% of our exposure to BPA compared to 98% from food packaging. It also discusses why choosing recycled paper over paper made from virgin trees is overall better for us and the environment. 

Other Plastic-Free Toilet Paper Options

If none of these options sounds particularly environmentally friendly to you then there is the reusable route. Sometimes this is  ‘delightfully’ known as ‘the family cloth‘. It’s not an option I’ve ever been able to convince my family to get on board with, but perhaps you might have better luck!

That’s All Great Wendy, But Which Plastic-Free Toilet Paper Do You Buy?

Oh you, with your tricky questions! Each toilet paper definitely has its pros and cons. As such, I don’t think it’s possible to say with any certainty which is the most environmentally paper type of toilet paper. Hopefully, this post encourages people to think about their options.

Personally? I’ve tried all three. The quality of each is much the same, so I’m sticking with Ecoleaf as it is made in the UK from recycled resources, rather than virgin bamboo, or products that are shipped long distances.

The Problem with Shipping

Both Greencane and Who Gives A Crap are manufactured and produced in Asia. They are then shipped on boats to the UK. 

Depending on where you read, this is either terrible in terms of carbon emissions or incredibly efficient in terms of carbon emissions. Either way, shipping a product all the way around the world to simply use once to wipe our bums and then flush down the toilet, seems to be such an incredible waste of resources. 

Whether the fact that Who Gives A Crap rolls are 100% longer than Ecoleaf, and 50% longer than Greencane – thereby requiring fewer shipments – makes them more environmentally friendly, I do not know. 

What I do know is that there are huge unregulated issues with human rights when it comes to shipping and the people who work in the shipping industry. These include abuse, slavery, and unsafe working conditions which are beyond the control and scope of both Greencane and Who Gives A Crap. Although sourcing everything in the UK isn’t always possible, where there is a UK alternative that I can afford then I’d rather support it.

The Cost Problem

The other key factor for me is money. When the default zero waste option involves spending quite a bit of money upfront, it’s hardly intersectional. Not everyone has the financial ability to buy 5 or 6 months’ worth of toilet paper in one go.

I personally can’t always afford to buy toilet paper in bulk or even always find space to store it. So, from the point of view of being able to pick up a pack of nine plastic-free toilet paper at a local shop is often a more doable option. 

Whilst I really like the charitable element of Who Gives A Crap, it’s important to remember that you can cut the middle man. You can donate directly to clean water charities such as Water Aid so that they get 100% of your donation.

Have you found other types of plastic-free toilet paper? Or do you use family cloth? I have to admit, I’m quite some way off introducing my family to this concept…!