Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Trying Recycled Content Toilet Paper, Take Three

Monday I talked about how my family is doing a blind tushie test of two brands of recycled content toilet paper. White Cloud sent us two rolls of toilet paper marked A and B. They also said we should “have fun” with the testing.

Husband and I took this as a cue to do scientific experiments like on Mythbusters. That didn’t work out very well because all of our favorite episodes are the ones that involve blowing stuff up. Apparently they don’t sell C4 and blast shields to just anybody, let alone let you use the your local police bomb range to test durability by blowing up rolls of toilet paper. The nerve!


While Husband and I tested the rolls in the conventional manner, the smallest member of the family had another type of test he wanted to conduct.

I put 5 squares of Roll A and Roll B on the floor in the living room and left Blitzkrieg to his own devices.




Blitzkrieg shredded more of Roll B than Roll A. I guess this means if you like to leave your toilet paper on the floor and don’t want your dog to shred it, go with Roll A.

Roll A was fairly soft but Roll B was much softer and there is more paper on the roll. Roll B reminded me of my old kill virgin trees to wipe my tush brand of toilet paper – and I liked it.

Which Roll is Which?

I though that only one of the rolls of toilet paper was 100% recycled content toilet paper given that Roll A was closer in look and performance to my current one ply 100% recycled content sand toilet paper  that we love so much that we considered TPing the tree in our own yard on Halloween just to get rid of it.

Turns out that both rolls were 100% recycled content toilet paper. Roll A is Seventh Generation. Roll B is White Cloud Green Earth. I have never been so happy to be so wrong. Remember what I said yesterday:


As a long time greenie,I expect certain things that are better for the environment to not always be as nice or as easy as the conventional stuff. I do it because it’s important. I do because more often than not it saves me money. I do because I want to make my little corner of the world a better place to be for my friends and family. For example, if every household in the United States replaced just one roll of virgin fiber toilet paper (500 sheets) with 100% recycled content toilet paper, it would save 423,900 trees according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. That’s a lot of trees!

I figure I can put up with some discomfort to make a polar bear smile.

However, I was not prepared to realize how much discomfort I was not able to put up with during the White Cloud Rate the Rolls Challenge. Hands down the family preferred the White Cloud Green Earth over the Seventh Generation toilet paper. The White Cloud Green Earth was so much like our old kill a forest to make TP brand that I swore it wasn’t recycled content toilet paper because the 100% recycled content toilet paper I bought on Earth Day mega sale is awful. The Seventh Generation is 100% recycled content,  two ply, and soft however the White Cloud Green Earth is the Goldilocks of toilet tissue, 100% recycled content, more absorbent, and much softer – just right.

And because this project has me evaluating, researching, and thinking way too much about TP I thought I’d share a few little factoids about how much post consumer content is in the brands of 100% recycled content toilet papers many of you have suggested I try (thanks for your suggestions!)

  • White Cloud Green Earth is made from 100% post consumer fibers.
  • Seventh Generation is made from 80% post consumer fiber
  • Marcal Small Steps is made from 30% post consumer fibers. 
  • Ever-Green is made from according to their Web site “a high level of post-consumer content.” They don’t give a specific number.
  • CVS Earth Essentials is made from “a minimum of” 60% post consumer fibers (according to the package.)
  • Trader Joe’s is made from 80% post consumer fiber.

White Cloud Green Earth  is also the cheapest. Price is a factor for me as well as greenness since toilet paper is something by its very nature I have to keep in steady supply.

If  you don’t believe me print off a coupon for $1.25, skip on down to your local Wal Mart, buy a pack, and try it yourself.



You will make a polar bear smile every time you wipe your tushie. I am sure of it.

Did you enjoy this post? Get more like it by subscribing to the Condo Blues RSS Feed  or to Condo Blues by Email.


Disclaimer: White Cloud is compensating me for the considerable time I am spending on this project. However all opinions are my own and are not influenced by this compensation and long time readers know I am highly opinionated.

5 comments:

Ctrl-Alt-Health said...

Thanks for enlightening us! I never paid attention to the post consumer content of the Marcal, I just assumed it was good because it was what Whole Foods used. One I stock up on the Marcal (because I have coupons!) I will see if I can find the White Cloud locally. I try hard not to go to Wal Mart (I enjoy shopping in my small town grocery stores, we have no Wal Mart here)

Mary H said...

Thanks to you and Blitzkrieg for doing all the heavy lifting! I was unaware of the CVS Earth Essentials. Will definitely look for it and give White Cloud Green Earth a try if I can find it somewhere besides Wal Mart (I just don't like to shop there if I can avoid it). I've been buying some kind of Marcal tp for years because it was "green" long before there was any other choice. I also used to order Seventh Generation tp by the case back in the '90's, but didn't really like it much.

Sarah Eliza @ devastateboredom said...

Haha you're hilarious. ;P Fascinating how they all compare though! I've used both the Trader Joes and the CVS Earth Essentials, as well as White Cloud. The CVS one is one ply, and pretty cheap feeling, but I like both White Cloud and the Trader Joes. Thanks for the coupon hehe!

Lisa said...

I use 7th Gen because I can buy it in bulk wrapped in paper and not plastic.

I would try this if they would go away from plastic wrapping. I will recommend it to those who won't go the super green route though! Thanks.

Lisa Nelsen-Woods said...

I carefully cut the top off of the plastic packages of TP and use the empty bag to clean up after Blitzkrieg so at least I get a reuse out of the plastic container. My city requires me to bag pet waste

Actually the White Cloud Green Earth is the greenist choice because it's the only 100% recycled fiber bathroom tissue that is made from 100% post consumer recycled fiber. With the exception of the Ever-green, all of the other toilet paper on the list can be purchased in a plastic wrapper, including Seventh Generation.

Post a Comment

I love comments and read them all! If you’re shy and don’t want your opinions made public, you can always email me at condoblues [at] gmail [dot] com.