Why is Bamboo Toilet Paper the Most Sustainable Choice?
Saving the planet sounds like a big job, right? But what if making a difference was as easy as switching your toilet paper? No need to live off-grid or give up coffee—just swap your loo roll for bamboo, and boom! Instant eco-upgrade.
Looking for the best sustainable toilet paper? Whether you’re choosing between recycled vs bamboo toilet paper, making the switch to an eco-friendly toilet paper can have a huge impact on the planet—without changing your daily routine.
Let’s break it down.
The Dirty Truth About Traditional Toilet Paper
What’s TP made of? (Hint: Trees!)
Spoiler alert: traditional toilet paper comes from trees—700 millions of them chopped down every year (that’s 1.9 million trees per day!) just to be flushed away.*
In the UK alone, we could be wiping out 12 million trees per year. Picture 318 Wembley stadiums packed with trees—now imagine mowing them all down for toilet paper. That’s a straight red card for the planet.*
And it gets worse: many brands still use virgin wood pulp—aka brand-new trees, turned into toilet paper, used once, then flushed. Not exactly a winning strategy.
Deforestation: more than just fewer trees
It’s not just about tree loss. When forests are cleared, we also lose:
- Biodiversity – Animals lose their homes and food sources, putting entire species at risk.
- Climate protection – Trees absorb carbon. The ones we cut down daily for toilet paper could have soaked up half a million tonnes of carbon over their lifetime!
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Healthy soil – Forests prevent erosion. Without them, soil quality goes downhill—literally.
What about plantation forests? Nice try, but they don’t fully make up for lost natural forests. They lack biodiversity (bad news for wildlife), rely on fertilizers (bad news for the environment), and are more vulnerable to climate disasters like droughts (bad news for everyone).
Water Waste
Think flushing wastes water? If all toilet paper globally was made from virgin wood, it would drain 1.165 million tonnes of water every year. That’s a lot of unnecessary waste—literally.*
Recycled vs bamboo toilet paper: which is more eco-friendly?
What about recycled toilet paper, you might wonder. Short answer: It helps, but only a little.
Recycled toilet paper is made from pre-consumer (unused, “fresh” paper) and post-consumer waste (like your paper recycling bin contents).
The good: It repurposes some waste, reducing landfill.
The bad:
The paper was originally made from trees, so deforestation still happens.
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That paper, whether it comes from pre- or post-consumer sources, has to be collected, and transported, which tends to result in high milage. Some recycled toilet rolls go around the globe multiple times before they end up in your loo!
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To get it squeaky clean, recycled toilet paper goes through an intense de-inking and sanitizing process, which means harsh chemicals and high emissions—45% more than Cheeky Panda’s bamboo toilet paper on average!
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Some recycled TP has been found to contain PFAS—those nasty "forever chemicals" you definitely don’t want near your skin.
Want a deep dive on how recycled and bamboo toilet paper compare? Click here.
Why bamboo toilet paper is the best sustainable choice
Bamboo grows back. Trees don’t, well most of them anyways. It’s that simple.
When you cut down a tree, it’s gone for good. When you cut bamboo, it bounces back faster than an elephant on a trampoline. Bamboo:
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Grows 30x faster than trees—meaning no deforestation, no soil erosion.
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Has 80% less impact on biodiversity (compared to virgin wood toilet paper)
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Doesn’t need irrigation—just natural rainwater, no wasteful watering.
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Doesn’t require pesticides or fertilizers—bamboo thrives on its own, keeping chemicals out of the equation.
Why Choose Cheeky Panda Toilet Paper?
At The Cheeky Panda, we believe in a world where:-
No trees are cut down for everyday essentials
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Forests stay standing and full of life
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Sustainability isn’t complicated—it just works
We know you’ve got enough on your plate (and probably on your kitchen counter). That’s why we make it a no-brainer to wipe responsibly:
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100% Sustainable Bamboo – Verified by Which?
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Plastic-Free Packaging – Minimal, recyclable, and no unnecessary waste
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Low Carbon Footprint – Our bamboo TP’s impact on global warming is almost half that of traditional TP (virgin wood or recycled)
The Bottom Line: Wipe Responsibly
Saving the planet shouldn’t mean settling.
Traditional TP = deforestation, water waste, and a big ol’ carbon footprint.
Recycled TP = better, but still not great.
Cheeky Panda Bamboo TP = Strong, soft, and carefully crafted from nature’s finest bamboo - the everyday upgrade that pandas would be proud of.
So go on—make the switch! Your bum (and the planet) will thank you.
*EDGE (2022) Toilet Paper Environmental Sustainability Report: Environmental Impacts of Traditional Toilet Paper Usage.
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