Specifications
Pulp Material
100% Recycled Material/80% Post Consumer Recycled
Bleaching Process
Chlorine Free
Ply
2
Quantity
12 rolls, 250 sheets
Price
$4.99
Friends, this is not going to be easy. The first thing I was running low on was toilet paper. I had been using Reel bamboo toilet paper. I didn’t do much research into this; I just knew that bamboo grows faster than trees and was a better alternative to wood. Plus, Reel was easy to grab at Target on my way home. I want to point out that Reel is not a bad choice, but I was running low and this gave me an opportunity to look into what the most sustainable toilet paper would be.
To inform my decision, I largely relied on the NRDC report “The Issue with Tissue,” sixth edition released in 2024. The paper examines where toilet paper pulp comes from, Forest Stewardship Council certification, and the bleaching process. Toilet paper is scored out of 600, and five brands (ARIA, Green Forest, Nature Value, Trader Joe’s, and 365 by Whole Foods Market) scored 580+, earning the coveted grade of an A+.
Firstly, you want to avoid any brand that uses virgin fiber pulp and opt for recycled content or alternative fibers such as bamboo. Now stay with me, because this is where it starts to get a little nuanced: not all recycled content is the same. There is post-consumer recycled content and pre-consumer recycled content. Post-consumer recycled content comes from materials that have already been used and recycled by consumers, like office paper and newspapers, whereas pre-consumer content comes from manufacturing scraps or factory rejects before they ever reach a consumer. Post-consumer recycled content is more sustainable because it repurposes waste that would otherwise head to landfills.
Recycled-content toilet paper not only helps divert waste from landfills but also promotes a circular economy by reusing materials. The production of toilet paper also consumes water and involves bleaching processes. Using post-consumer recycled material cuts water usage in half and drastically reduces the need for bleaching. Second to post-consumer materials is bamboo, which can grow more than 20 times faster than trees. Tissue products made from bamboo release 30% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than tissue made from virgin wood.
With everything I now knew, I had to make a decision—and Trader Joe’s toilet paper stood out as my sustainable choice. Trader Joe’s toilet paper is made from 80% post-consumer recycled material. It is also processed chlorine-free (PCF), meaning it avoids chlorine entirely, instead relying on oxygen, ozone, and hydrogen peroxide for processing.
Additionally, Trader Joe’s toilet paper demonstrates that eco-conscious living doesn’t have to come at the expense of quality or affordability. The final factor in my decision was convenience: Trader Joe’s is already a regular grocery stop on my commute home, reducing the number of trips and shipping needed to get the product.
By choosing Trader Joe’s, I can feel confident that I’m making a practical and impactful decision for the planet without compromising on everyday comfort. It’s a small but meaningful step toward reducing my carbon footprint and encouraging a shift toward more sustainable consumer habits.