Since the average American uses almost three rolls of toilet paper every week, or 141 per year, according to Statista, the environmental impact of our bathroom habits really adds up.
That's why the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) releases a report annually ranking how eco-friendly our favorite TP brands are.
The most recent ranking from 2022, The Issue with Tissue 4.0, provided scores and grades ranging from A+ to F for each brand.
How does the scoring work?
The NRDC scored the TP brands based on a points system — with a total possible score of 600 points. Basically, NRDC rewarded companies for not using "virgin fiber" — which comes from chopping down trees — or harmful chemical processing.
Companies received points (up to 100) when their toilet paper was not bleached with chlorine to avoid this more toxic method of bleaching.
Next, these brands could get up to 500 of the remaining points for using recycled materials or bamboo fibers. To get the most points, brands could produce their TP with 100% "post-consumer" recycled materials, meaning the paper products had been recycled by everyday people.
Using "pre-consumer" recycled content, on the other hand — which is sent to a recycling center before a consumer ever sees it (i.e., recycled during the production process) — could result in companies getting up to 400 points.
Who scored the highest in the latest Issue with Tissue?
Of the sixty toilet paper brands evaluated, only four received an A+ rating, with eight more receiving an A. To receive an A+, these four brands needed to score at least 580 out of a possible 600 points.
The four "winners" were Green Forest, Natural Value, Trader Joe's, and 365 Everyday Value, 100% Recycled.
Each of these four brands scored 580 points. They got 100 points each for their chlorine-free processing, 400 points each for using 80% post-consumer recycled content, and 80 points each for using 20% pre-consumer recycled content.
Who scored the lowest in the latest Issue with Tissue?
Perhaps unsurprisingly, many more brands received failing grades. Nearly half (28) of the ranked brands received the grade of F.
And many of these losers were big-name brands. Charmin, Amazon Basics, Cottonelle Ultra, Angel Soft, and Scott 1000 are all among those famous TP companies receiving an F.
Angel Soft and Amazon Basics received the lowest possible score of zero out of 600 for using entirely virgin fiber, which results in deforestation, and bleaching that results in the pollution of chlorine gas.
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