Who gives a crap? One of my favorite & easiest ways to take action for the planet
One of my favorite things in life is the cleverness of people. I love watching videos of people doing really cool things, especially when it’s something that I would never have thought of in my wildest dreams! And I also love when people cleverly integrate humor and joy into otherwise not-exciting parts of life.
Enter - Who Gives A Crap!**
I struggled for a while with my use of paper products. I knew that using paper towels and even my toilet paper was not the greatest for the environment, but it was hard to stop using them entirely.
I mean, sorry, but tp is kinda essential for me 😆
[REMEMBER (ok how could you forget lol) the tp shortage chaos during COVID?!? I am not alone!]
And sometimes there really isn’t a good alternative to paper towels, like for gross messes on the floor. I am not going to use my reusable cloths on things that will ruin them and/or make me want to gag if I use it again after.
I had tried other recycled toilet paper and paper towel brands, but I had all kinds of issues with them. The tp brands were either very scratchy on my sensitive parts 🍑 or I ended up needing a ton of it because it was so thin. Or both.
The recycled paper towels were often difficult to actually use because they would fall apart or were hard to find or expensive.
I don’t remember how, but one day I came across Who Gives A Crap (WGAC) and absolutely loved how funny and clever their branding was. I mean, just reading their about us page or blogs made me crack up!
The humor and goofiness definitely caught my attention and I signed up for their newsletter. I found out over time that not only were they funny, but omg they are doing some amazing things for our planet!
I finally made the purchase after almost 3 years on their mailing list (honestly, I have no idea what took me so long. I think I was a little hung up on the delivery thing, thinking that it would be a pain. Boy was I wrong!). I received my first shipment in June 2023 and I will NEVER go back!
Here’s the deal: WGAC’s paper products are made from sustainable bamboo or 100% recycled paper (don’t worry, it’s not recycled toilet paper lol). Bamboo is an incredibly fast growing grass that is far more sustainable than cutting down trees. Their 100% recycled paper products are their “eco-friendliest” but the bamboo is the strongest.
I personally order the bamboo tp rolls and tissues, as well as their recycled paper towels. I find that they last us quite a while and the pricing is very similar to what I was paying at Target. Not to mention that they work GREAT!
The shipping to the house is also super clutch because I don’t even need to think about it anymore. Super helpful for all that extra mental load and decision fatigue that plagues a lot of us women these days!
I get an email telling me it’s about to auto ship again and I either let it ship as usual or skip the delivery for 2 or 4 weeks with one click, depending on how much we still have. Honestly, it couldn't be simpler.
What’s even COOLER about this company, is that they have really thought about how they can reduce impacts in a variety of ways and even discuss the uber-important ancestry of the land. This is a quote from their email that I just absolutely adore:
So, one of the simplest, easiest things you can do TODAY to take action for the planet, is purchase your paper products from Who Gives A Crap!**
It’s fun, convenient, affordable, effective AND good for the planet 🌏
Who said your imperfect path to sustainability had to be hard or boring?? 😎
What do I do if I can’t order from Who Gives A Crap because I’m out of town/don’t want to have it shipped/can’t wait a couple days for tp?
Great question! The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has put together a very comprehensive rating system for paper products that I looked at when doing my research (see below for more on this). Without getting into the weeds, here are my other recommendations if this won’t work for you:
Trader Joe’s TP (not “super soft” type), paper towels, face tissues
365 by Whole Foods TP (not “sustainably soft” type) and paper towels
Seventh Generation TP, paper towels, face tissues (usually found at Target)
Personally, these aren’t my favorites but they’ll do in a pinch. Generally, stay away from the big brands unfortunately (I was a die-hard Charmin person but have happily switched to WGAC!). Amazon Aware brand also makes the list as a good alternative, but I have not personally tried them so can’t say much about it (let me know if you have!!).
How changing this one thing matters:
There’s a lot of info out there on paper usage and you probably already know that chopping down trees to wipe bums or hands or noses seems a little…much. Reducing your usage of trees for that kind of thing is super helpful as about 10% of the average American’s paper use is for these two products(1). Meaning, you’ll help keep trees in the earth and all kinds of associated bonuses!
Sometimes it doesn’t always feel like it matters when one person takes this kind of action, but here at Practically Eco, we want to highlight how much of an impact our COLLECTIVE actions have.
So, if you take this action for your household, let us know! We’re working on cool ways to showcase all of our actions together so you can actually SEE the difference you are making.
In addition to letting us know what paper-saving stuff you’re up to, we also want to help if it’s not really gonna work for you. Send us those issues too, like - Is there anything that is preventing you from switching to recycled/sustainable paper products? What other issues do you have around paper products?
A Note on Bamboo & Conflicting Messages About Paper Products
A really important part of Practically Eco is being positive, simple, practical, and trustworthy. Ultimately, my vision is for our community members to finally feel happy and guilt-free about how they are doing something meaningful for the planet. A big part of that is transparency around how these recommendations come to be, but I want to balance that to prevent the overwhelm.
Ok great, why are you saying this and what does it have to do with bamboo? Sustainably sourced paper products have *surprise* a bunch of conflicting info about them. I know, I saw it all, and I’ve digested it down to this for you. You’re welcome 😉
There are some concerns around bamboo and how it is grown that may have negative impacts on the planet. But honestly, what DOESN’T have some potential for that these days? Not only that, but in my deep dive research on this, I found that those concerns have been more than adequately addressed by WGAC.
What I will say is that FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified bamboo is a great alternative to conventional paper products, even though they may not get the A+ rating from the NRDC. I have my own opinions about that* and understand why recycled content is rated higher on their system.
However, our community is PRACTICALLY Eco, which means I try to provide recommendations for things that are practically sustainable.
In this case, I find that 100% recycled paper products are not my favorite and I have given up on them before. It doesn’t do much good to try something once and never do it again because you don’t like it, right?
So when I found this bamboo alternative that I actually like and actually works, I will keep using it as a replacement for conventional paper products indefinitely. Which is a much better solution!
The bamboo sourced for WGAC products is the best case scenario and I firmly believe that the B rating by the NRDC is exactly the kind of thing I want to highlight here: a B is much much much better than an F, even though it’s not an A+. Especially if it is something you will actually continue to use.
With all that said, I have links to sources below if you want to do your own research too. But rest assured that if you don’t, I have done it for you and stand behind my recommendations 100%. Which isn’t to say that won’t change as new information becomes available, but if you’re signed up for our newsletter, you’ll be the first to know of those changes!
Thanks for being here! It is truly my honor and privilege to serve each of you as we tackle the largest challenge of our time ♥️ Remember - YOU can make a difference!
Ta-ta for now,
Nicolette
*My opinion is, moving away from trees being used as paper products is the direction we need to go. I understand the issues with clear cutting forests to plant bamboo, but there are better ways to grow more sustainable materials, like bamboo, that don’t require clear cutting. Therefore, I think supporting products that don’t use ANY tree products is actually the better move. 100% recycled content means no additional trees were cut down, but they were still cut down at one point. Anywayyyyyy, you do what’s best for you and your household!
**Note: I am not at all endorsed or affiliated with this company. This is just my honest review of a company I really believe in and I do not receive any money for writing this post or from any of your purchases.
Sciency Stuff:
Info on amount of paper products used: https://www.epa.gov/greenerproducts/identifying-greener-paper#:~:text=The%20average%20American%20uses%20more,is%20a%20growth%20of%20126%25.
Info on bamboo: https://canopyplanet.org/solutions/next-generation-solutions/canopys-bamboo-position/
NRDC report on paper products with ratings: https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/2023-09/issue-with-tissue-5th-report.pdf
