American spending on it rose by $2 billion in 2020.
But experts say it’s time to put toilet paper behind us.
Paper doesn’t get you as clean as water. Faeces transmits diseases including cholera, hepatitis, E. coli, and maybe even coronavirus. More common TP-induced ailments include urinary tract infections and something bum doctors call “polished anus syndrome.”
The environmental toll is massive. Logging (sorry) for the type of paper used in toilet rolls impacts over a million acres per year of precious Canadian boreal forest alone, releasing upwards of 26 million metric tons of CO2 and leaving 90% of the disturbed land barren. And that’s just one source.
A lot of this deforestation supplies the luxury consumer – recycled paper isn’t as gentle on your tush. Yet 70% of the world’s population doesn’t use toilet paper at all. Big areas of southern Europe, Africa, and Southeast Asia use water instead. So why shouldn’t everyone else?
— source qssupplies.co.uk | 17/01/2022