You Should Consider Toilet Paper Alternatives

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We just recently discussed the potential toxicity of and the certain environmental destruction caused by toilet paper and other tissue paper products (e.g., paper towels, facial tissue). I know. What am I doing talking about toilet paper? I never expected to be talking about toilet paper on this blog. 

I think that’s what happens when you try to increase your awareness and become more informed; you learn about things you never would have thought of that really do matter. 

If you read my first post on toilet paper, you learned that toilet paper potentially contains harmful toxins (though probably not enough to be concerned about) and read a brief discussion of some potential alternatives you could use. Today, we are going to go a little deeper into toilet paper alternatives, including why many people will not go for it, probably ever. 

A little bit of toilet paper history

Alternative options for those that can’t ditch the paper

Alternative toilet paper brand recommendations

The infamous bidet

Just use a cloth?

Summary / TLDR

History of toilet paper

Though you’ve probably never thought about it, it shouldn’t be surprising that people lived for a very long time without toilet paper. People throughout the ages have used a variety of things from rocks and leaves to sponges and so many other materials for wiping their bottoms. 

The first use of paper for toilet uses is seen in the 6th century, but it doesn’t appear to be until the 14th century that “toilet paper” was invented. This toilet paper, though, is not like what we have today. As paper became more common in the 1800s, we saw the emergence of toilet paper similar to what we have today. But it still wasn’t common until the late 1800s and most people continued to use what was available. It wasn’t until the 1930s that “splinter free” toilet paper was produced, and it’s all evolved from there.

Another thing that makes sense but you probably haven’t thought of is that we live in an unprecedented age of being able to get whatever we want whenever we want it. As little as one hundred years ago, and even more so two hundred years ago, people were much more inclined to use what they had to serve their needs because every product under the sun did not exist and running out to get another XYZ wasn’t typically a possibility. 

Fast forward to today. Toilet paper is so, so common. I’d say it’s the norm in most cultures. Even in places that heavily utilize alternatives like bidets, it’s usually not odd to use toilet paper.

Alternative paper options for those that can’t ditch the paper

I discussed at length in our original toilet paper post about the reasons to ditch toilet paper (and other tissue paper products!). If that is something you just cannot do, my recommendation is that you consider using recycled toilet paper. 

First, let’s cover why I don’t recommend using bamboo toilet paper. I discussed in our post about non toxic diapers why I have a problem with soft bamboo products in general. Have you seen bamboo? Have you felt it? It’s rock hard. As I tend to say, you can’t take something that is fundamentally one way (hard, inflexible) and make it fundamentally another way (soft, flexible), without intensive processes, often chemical. This is the reality for bamboo. 

I’ll probably cover this in more detail some day, but it’s important to understand that while bamboo itself is a very promising source material, due to its quick growth with relatively low inputs, its ability to capture and convert carbon, and its versatility, fabric and paper made from bamboo hardly resembles the original form. 

Though there are some forms of bamboo fabric that are better than others, the vast majority of bamboo fabric is just bamboo sourced rayon, made from a process that utilizes dangerous chemicals that are bad for workers and the environment and produces a product that is no more sustainable or “good for you” than rayon is. While companies market certain benefits of bamboo cloth, and admittedly it is very soft, the other benefits do not hold up in final form and the costs to personal health and the environment are arguably too high. 

The article I linked is an amazing review of this topic if you want more information. 

Though bamboo paper may be slightly less chemically intensive, it’s made through a similar process with similar chemicals and actually the Mamavation report we discussed in our previous post shows that most of the brands showing positive for PFAS were actually bamboo brands. All around, I just don’t recommend bamboo…

I’ll add that making wood into soft toilet paper is also chemically intensive for the same reasons, making hard soft is not natural… However, most paper products, especially tissue paper, are made from softwood, whereas bamboo is more closely related to hardwood in physical properties. So trees are easier and less chemically intensive to make into toilet paper.

Now, recycled toilet paper. I touched on this briefly in our previous post. Recycled toilet paper is very promising because it means there’s no use of virgin trees, which theoretically means no contribution to deforestation. (I’ll caveat that shipping and processing still has an environmental impact when compared to just not using paper to wipe your butt, but nonetheless.)

Generally, recycled toilet paper is a great option. It’s about as toxic as normal toilet paper, which we discussed likely isn’t, and it’s relatively eco-friendly. 

One thing to keep in mind is that recycled toilet paper can be toxic if the company is utilizing thermal receipt paper to make the recycled paper. 

There are quite a few analyses of receipt paper, some with small and some large samples that do find BPA and BPS (a BPA alternative that has raised toxicity concerns of its own). One problem with the use of BPA for thermal paper is that (unlike other plastic products where BPA is polymerized, which is still problematic but reduces the overall level of exposure) it uses free BPA, which means the exposure is at a higher concentration and more susceptible to dermal penetration.

There are quite a lot of other studies of smaller size that reveal the same prevalence of BPA on thermal paper (I’ll let you fact check that yourself because it’s just too much to cite), which individually are not that impressive but when all combined, given their great variety in different stores, regions, and continents, is very compelling.

A different type of studies are ones that look more at the result of handling thermal paper and the resultant BPA concentrations in the body. And while many worry about the use of BPS as an alternative in this application, stating it is not safer and is endocrine disrupting, there is limited evidence that BPS does not absorb dermally as readily as BPA, which would be a good thing. 

All in all, a little complicated, but the general consensus is that thermal receipt paper is a decent source of toxin contamination and we should avoid touching them, encourage companies not to use them, and wash our hands after handling them if we must.

And all of THAT to say that recycled toilet paper that utilizes thermal receipt paper is likely to carry that BPA into the final product.  There’s not a lot of research to confirm that, but the logic is that bisphenols do not break down well by almost any process and therefore are likely to remain through the processing of recycled toilet paper. I buy it. Luckily, there are companies that are avoiding use of thermal receipt paper in their recycled toilet paper.

My recommendations for alternative toilet paper brands

There are other people who have written about this, so I will keep it brief here. You have some other lists like the recommendations by Mamavation or the NRDC’s “The Issue With Tissue Sixth Edition Scorecard” from 2024. I particularly like the NRDC’s resource because they focus on sustainability efforts of these companies, and I personally think that is the greater concern with toilet paper. They also have been updating it every year since they started and I assume they mean to continue doing that. One thing I don’t like about the list is they don’t seem to focus on the chemicals used during processing the paper, just the deforestation. 

Generally speaking, I just recommend you find a good brand of 100% recycled toilet paper that claims to avoid use of thermal receipt paper. If you do that, you should avoid most of the toxicity concerns you may have as well as protect the environment. Just generally, my recommendation is to avoid tissue made from virgin wood pulp. That equals unsustainable use of wood resources…

One other note on the Mamavation list is that they mention who uses “chlorine” and who does not. Please note that virtually no paper mills use elemental chlorine, which is the truly dangerous version that barely exists anymore because everyone agrees it’s bad. So when they say a company uses chlorine, they actually mean chlorine dioxide, which is not the same thing. This process is called elemental chlorine free bleaching. Another similar version is process chlorine free bleaching. 

Go read our TCF vs. ECF post to learn more about my thoughts on this (based on research, of course), but my general advice on this is that you can choose TCF products if you want to make absolutely sure there is no chance of any form of chlorine, dioxin, or furan in your product. That’s valid. But also know that the likeliness of those things being present from ECF bleaching is extremely low, with most testing showing truly negligible or no levels of these chemicals in ECF products.

So, what brands do I like? This list is based off of material and processing, I’ve only tried one of the brands and like it just fine. This is also not an exhaustive list. I could go on and on. Just find a 100% recycled brand, emphasis on limiting use of thermal receipt paper is preferred but hard to find. That’s it.

Unfortunately it can be difficult to determine if brands are using receipt paper or not. If they’ve said they aren’t or avoid it, I’ve stated that here.

(If there was a truly unbleached version of 100% recycled toilet paper, I’d probably go for that, but I can’t seem to find one. This is probably because bleaching helps with strength and function of toilet paper. If you know of one, let me know in the comments so I can try it out.)

Who Gives a Crap 100% Recycled Toilet Paper - This company has a bamboo option as well, but like I said, I don’t recommend that. Their recycled version is great though. It’s what I use. They claim that they do not use receipt paper. Bonus points for no paper packaging and carbon neutral footprint.

365 Whole Foods Market 100% Recycled Toilet Paper - Quality product, they claim to avoid receipt paper.

Natural Value 100% Recycled Toilet Paper - This product is marked A+ in the NRDP report.

Aria 100% Recycled Toilet Paper - This product is also marked A+ in the NRDP report.

Marcal Pro 100% Recycled Toilet Paper - Mamavation says they “avoid” thermal receipt paper, but I can’t find any information from the company about this. It has an amazing price point.

The infamous bidet

This is mostly for American readers, because bidets are not such a “weird” thing in most of the world. I know so many people here who would consider a bidet just that. Weird. And maybe even gross. And on one hand I get it. When you’re raised where everyone uses paper to wipe their butt, a different way of doing it is going to seem strange. 

However, a large portion of the world uses bidets, more in some countries than in others, obviously. Stats vary depending on who you look at, but most say that a majority of bathrooms in the world at least have a bidet, even if people aren’t using them. In contrast, some sources say that in the US, only 6% of people have a bidet. 

Anyway, I’m not going to go into an argument for bidets because it probably wouldn’t convince many people anyway, but I’d challenge that, if anything, a bidet would be more sanitary than using paper because it’s like showering in a way and more likely to be thorough. People who use one also tend to say they feel more clean using a bidet than when they use paper. 

You may have to use a cloth to dry but some people drip dry. It’s one of those things where a lot of people that try it get used to it and never go back. Adjustments can be strange at first but you’d be surprised what you can get used to and grow to love. 

The added benefit of the bidet is that you can use no paper, or much less paper. People have different systems for this, but in any way you do it you could use arguably less paper and wipes, saving money and resources in the long run.

But what about the extra water you’re using??? It’s hard to say exactly how much water is used in making toilet paper. A number I’ve seen floating around a lot is 37 gallons per roll of toilet paper (this includes water used in planting and harvesting, etc.), but I haven’t been able to find an initial reputable source for that. 

The situation is likely complicated by the fact that a lot of paper mills are thrifty about their wood use for products like paper and will use recycled portions as well as recycling some of their water by using the mill’s waste water at least a second time.

But the estimate is that a bidet uses about ⅛ of a gallon per bathroom use and I would imagine this depends so largely on the person and what’s going on in that particular bathroom trip. But either way, even if you cut the estimated toilet paper roll water use in half and assume people use the minimal amount of paper possible per bathroom use (which, spoiler alert, most people don’t), you’d still be using less water with a bidet. 

(Yes, there’s consideration of the cost of making and cleaning the bidet and so on. We could pick all of the little pieces apart. I’d wager that, especially compared to continuously buying paper that has to be shipped all over, you’re using much less resources with a bidet.)

Anyway! Long story short. A bidet is a very easy, relatively cheap (should pay itself off pretty quickly depending on what route you go with it) way to use way less (or no!) paper in the bathroom. 

You can buy a more expensive built-in bidet or you can buy a handheld one. I personally prefer the handheld version because it can be used for multiple purposes. I use it for cleaning cloth diapers, bathing the dog, bathing children, and cleaning the tub in addition to regular toilet uses. For some of those you would need to ensure the hose reaches the tub. Obviously this won’t work for every bathroom configuration. 

Because I know nothing about built in bidets and don’t have one myself. I hesitate to make a recommendation. I’ve linked one here that is affordable and doesn’t require a while new toilet that would probably be a better option for you to try if you’re unsure about using a bidet. The built-in toilet versions are hundreds of dollars. Those exist on Amazon too, but I don’t know about them. 

For a handheld bidet, here’s an option from Amazon from a reputable brand. This one from The Showerhead Store is the one I will be putting in our new house. Keep in mind you’ll need to ensure whatever you get works with your specific toilet because they aren’t all universal. 

If you want to go really hard, they even sell portable bidets… They’ve got fancier ones, easy squeeze ones that are basically peri bottles (if you’ve ever had a baby, you know what I’m talking about, you could also just use your peri bottle if you still have it), and discreet collapsible ones.

Just use a cloth?

Here’s an option that I know won’t jive with a lot of people but hear me out. There’s a couple of ways you could go about just using cloths in the bathroom. 

The first one is going to apply largely to women and is simple, easy, and not even remotely gross. You can use little handheld cloths (I use these for myself and in place of baby wipes but there are so many options. I prefer organic cotton or flannel) to wipe your pee when that’s all your doing in the bathroom. Have a little receptacle you throw them in, and wash them when you’re running out. You could wash them separately, but honestly, there’s nothing harmful about washing the tiniest bit of pee with the rest of your clothes. It’s going to come out completely clean. 

This method could reduce a lot of your paper use and leave paper/wipes for actual messes. This is what I’ve done for a long time as a quick and easy way to reduce my toilet paper use. 

If you want to go really hard on this, you could use cloths for every bathroom trip. Though I haven’t done this and I’ve gotten a bidet so I wouldn’t need to do this anyway, you could use cloth for every wipe, potentially wetting your cloth before use (like a reusable wipe) for particular messes. There’s no reason this couldn’t be done for every bathroom trip. It’s no different in essence from using paper or wet paper (a wipe). 

You’d definitely want a separate receptacle for these. Some people say they should sit in vinegar and water in that receptacle, but I think as long as you’re washing them every few days, and maybe rinsing particularly messy ones, you shouldn’t need to do that. Just wash and take care of things. 

This is going to be too far for most people, I get that. This is why I prefer a bidet. It’s just easier. However, I already do laundry like this for my children’s diapers. That may be why it really doesn’t phase me.

There are different ways to do the laundry for this kind of soiled cloth. My method is to do a rinse and spin cycle with cold water and a dash of soap. Then I run a hot wash with an extra rinse, full amount of soap, and sometimes even a prewash cycle with oxygen boost. This ensures you’re rinsing poop out of the cloths before actually washing them and then that you’re doing a truly sanitizing cycle. They come out sparkling clean (obviously some staining is inevitable but who cares, you could do extra stain treatment if you really mind). 

But doesn’t this make your machine gross and the rest of your clothes poopy? No. If you wash like this, you’re cleaning all of that down the drain. I also run a wash cycle for my machine about once a month because I’m regularly cleaning poop with it. I use extra hypochlorous acid cleaner I’m having to dump (my leftover Force of Nature, read my review on that here) because it is a great sanitizer, but you could use something like Tide washing machine cleaner or a version that has safer/less chemicals and is more environmentally friendly.

Summary / TLDR

Yes, poop is gross. I would prefer not having to deal with it. But no matter what we do, we’re all dealing with poop in one way or another. I just happen to care about doing so in a sustainable way. 

We live in a new era of being able to wipe our butt with soft paper and flush it down the drain, never to be seen again. However, that convenience (as with pretty much every other convenience) comes at a pretty significant cost to our environment. Cue the issues we are seeing today related to environmental destruction and contamination around the world.

If you’re interested in cutting down on your toilet paper use for toxicity reasons (which I’ve explained in this post I don’t think is a major concern, but you may disagree) or for environmental reasons, there are several viable options for you. 

The first is to use recycled toilet paper (not toilet paper that is recycled, but toilet paper that is made of recycled paper…) instead of paper that uses fresh trees. This isn’t a perfect solution (nothing is), but it’s a great step in the right direction. 

Another option is to use a bidet and then preferably a reusable cloth to dry. With this method you could eliminate your toilet paper use in your home. If you feel you need or want to, you could still use a very minimal amount of paper to dry, which is a better option than the paper you would be using to clean entirely with. If you want to take it a step further, they even have portable bidets…

The final option I’m recommending is to use reusable cloths in the bathroom. I do this dry for pee and you could wet them for poop. If you use them just for pee, your washing is no more complicated than ever. If you use them for poop, you do need to follow some washing guidance (like what I provided in this section above) to ensure you’re fully cleaning and sanitizing them. I also recommend regular washing machine cleaning, which I also explained above.

This may seem like such a silly topic to cover. After all, how can your toilet paper usage really make a difference in our overall resource usage as a country or a planet? I believe that kind of thinking is so limited and that it is because everybody thinks like that that we will be stuck where we’re at forever, using more than we need and burning through natural resources. 

The fact of the matter is toilet paper is not an essential. And beyond that, if everybody made the changes for their family that they are willing to make to reduce their resource usage, then we would make a significant dent in our wastefulness and pollution of the earth and our own health. 

Toilet paper may not be something you’re willing to give up. For my family, it is. But there may be something else. Figure out what that is and make that change! Individuals actions when combined across the globe can certainly make a significant impact. 

Anyway, I HOPE I inspired you to at least consider one of these swaps, but I understand if I didn’t. 

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