Is your favorite toilet paper brand eco-friendly enough for the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) movement? A newly released scorecard from a radical environmental group is pressuring companies to be more sustainable.
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), famous for filing lawsuits that block energy projects and hunting and fishing access, has unveiled its sixth annual Issue with Tissue Scorecard. They score American companies according to their commitment to so-called sustainability efforts with A to F ratings. NRDC has consistently blamed toilet paper usage for perpetuating a “climate crisis.”
Their report suggests U.S. consumers are degrading Canada’s boreal forests because they want clean derrières:
U.S. consumers need only look north to see the effects of paper production on our environment. The world’s largest intact forest, the Canadian boreal, is being cut down at an alarming rate—more than 1 million acres per year—in part to feed consumer demand for paper products. And much of that demand comes from the United States. In 2022, it accounted for 65 percent of all of Canada’s pulp and paper exports, which are then used by some of the biggest household brands for everything from paper towels to toilet paper.
The environmental group also argued industrial logging used to source this item destroys wildlife habitat and imperils 600 Indigenous communities who depend on boreal forests.
Toilet paper companies earning an “F” score this year include Charmin, Angel Soft, Quilted Northern Ultra Plush, and Quilted Northern Ultra Soft & Strong. Charmin is the most popular and widely-used brand, followed by Angel Soft (fourth) and Quilted Northern (fifth).
NRDC executives can afford tree-free alternatives, as the average executive salary is $218,087 a year. Interim NRDC President Mitchell Bernard reportedly made a combined salary of $705,195 in 2021. But can non-NRDC executives afford bamboo or other “eco-friendly” substitutes? Unsurprisingly, “tree-free” alternatives cost more than conventional toilet paper. For instance, a Charmin Ultra Strong 24-roll package costs $38 at Walmart, compared to $45 for a 24-roll bamboo alternative.
Naturally, the pressure to be eco-friendly and attain a high ESG score invites companies to mislead about their sustainability efforts.
A recent investigation by UK consumer watchdog Which? into bamboo alternatives found five green brands sold tree-free toilet rolls made of wood—with three of the samples containing “very small amounts of bamboo or grass fibre.” The report explained:
These three samples came from Naked Sprout, Bazoo and Bumboo. Instead of bamboo fibres, they were mainly composed of fast-growing virgin hardwoods – mostly eucalyptus, with some acacia in Bazoo and Bumboo. Acacia has been associated with damaging deforestation in places such as Indonesia.
The investigation further revealed that one of the companies, Bumboo, was sold the wrong product from a paper mill in China.
This revelation led the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)—a forest certification system—to disavow companies that falsely deemed their products FSC-labeled toilet rolls.
“In line with FSC’s process, these allegations were further investigated by Assurance Services International (ASI). The investigation included 14 certificate holders belonging to the supply chains of the brands identified by Which? – Bazoo, Naked Sprout, and Bumboo,” the FSC concluded. “ASI traced the supply chains of these companies back to the source and obtained their transaction records to check the certified timber traded between them. As a result of this investigation, one of the suppliers was suspended.”
Experts and consumers aren’t sold on the perceived benefits of bamboo TP either.
One analyst exposed the climate hypocrisy displayed by green brands with A or B ratings on NRDC’s list. Ironically, they source from Asian-based mills boasting high carbon footprints:
Another hidden point that never comes to light is a carbon footprint. While the negative impact of CO2, the most commonly produced greenhouse gas, has never been denied in paper manufacturing, the similar result of selling imported tissue goods from faraway places has been somehow missing.
Alternatives such as bamboo and sugarcane are sourced from countries like China and India. In comparison, 90% of bath tissue is sourced here in North America—with the majority of U.S. supplies coming from Wisconsin. More concerning is NRDC ignoring the largest perpetrators of deforestation today: emerging markets in Asia, not the U.S.
NRDC criticizes companies for despoiling Canadian boreal forests. But last year, 37 million acres (or 15 million hectares) were destroyed due to high-intensity wildfires—hardly the fault of toilet paper companies.
Companies Charmin and Quilted Northern already have long standing commitments to replant trees to replenish forests without the virtue signaling. Actions speak louder than flawed and biased scorecards.
Learn more about the actual root causes of deforestation HERE.