Who Gives a Crap Recycled Toilet Paper Review

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When we first started to make eco-swaps within our home one area that I knew we needed to make big changes in was the bathroom. With products coming in plastic bottles, plastic tubes, and single-use plastics used for wrapping, it was an environmental nightmare. And so I began my research into more eco-friendly items, how to reduce our plastic use and how to choose more sustainable products. Once you begin to learn what is available, it feels so simple and with more and more ethical and eco products being developed making these swaps has never been easier. One such simple swap was our move to plastic-free, recycled toilet paper. It sounds so basic, doesn’t it? But choosing to regularly avoid plastic and virgin materials can have such a big positive impact on our environment and switching to Who Gives a Crap toilet paper allows you to be more sustainable, effortlessly. Having now been using this brand for the last 4 years I thought it was about time that I gave you an honest Who Gives a Crap review.

About Who Gives a Crap

Who Gives a Crap started way back in 2013 after founders Simon, Jehan and Danny learnt that around 2.4 billion people around the world didn’t have access to a toilet. That’s roughly 40% of the global population and also means that around 289,000 children under five die every year from diarrhoeal diseases caused by poor water and sanitation. They knew they had to help and so they created a toilet paper that was not only good for the environment (I’ll come to this in a moment) but one that could give back to those who needed help. With 50% of their profits going to help build toilets and improve sanitation in the developing world, Who Gives a Crap has always had care at the heart of their brand.

The Eco Bit

Who Gives a Crap products are made only via sustainable materials – bamboo and 100% recycled paper. The reason for this is because they didn’t want to be adding to the strain on trees that other toilet paper brands do and they knew they could still produce a fantastic toilet roll with a smaller impact.

“Every day, over 1 million trees are cut down to make traditional toilet paper. Such a waste! Cutting down trees just for TP is a total no-no for us. That’s why these rolls are made using 100% recycled materials. Helping to reduce deforestation by wiping your bum is what we’d call a yes-yes“

WGAC Website

Who Gives a Crap toilet paper also does not come wrapped in plastic, instead, each roll is individually wrapped in paper packaging that can either be recycled, composted or reused – it makes fun wrapping paper for gifts or for arts and crafts!

One question that comes up a lot is why wrap individually and the main reason Who Gives a Crap provides is hygiene. If they wrapped all 48 rolls as one, there is a big chance the paper will rip in transit which would ruin the entire order. On top of this, the individually wrapped toilet roll can be safely stored at home or work without contaminating the rolls. So, it may initially seem wasteful to you but when you take hygiene into consideration and the fact that no plastic has been used, it really does make sense. All the dyes used for the packaging are made from soy making this eco-friendly and vegan.

Another query and often criticism of this company (that I have seen online) has been around the production and shipping from China however, this year they have managed to secure the production and shipping in the UK so if you order from here, you will no longer be receiving your toilet rolls from another country.

**Please note that just because something is made in China it does not mean that this is a negative. Many companies (including some of my favourite cloth nappy brands) have to use this country as their source of product manufacturing and there are many ethical factories available. More on this from WGAC here.

Who Gives a Crap does not test on animals, uses starch and water as glue to avoid the use of animal products making it completely vegan and is a Certified B Corp which means the company meets the highest standards of social and environmental impact.

Who Gives a Crap Review

First Impressions Including Costings

I remember when I first looked into switching to Who Gives a Crap and taking a moment to calculate the prices. At first glance, it does feel expensive but then I did a bit of research and read that with your supermarket brand you only get approximately 200 sheets of toilet paper but with Who Gives a Crap you get 400 and so to ensure that this would indeed be a better deal I decided to work out the difference between what we had already been using (Andrex) and this. Now, 4 years have since passed since I did these calculations and prices have obviously changed so I’ve had another look at it all just so I can bring you a more up-to-date estimation:

• Andrex 48 rolls, 190 sheets per roll, 9,120 sheets in total, 2 ply, currently selling at Amazon’s lowest price at £34.39 (I looked for one of the best deals to make it a fair test), this equals 38p per 100 sheets.

• Who Gives a Crap 48 rolls (recycled paper), 400 sheets per roll, 19,200 sheets in total, 3 ply, £44 on subscription (free shipping), this equals 23p per 100 sheets.

So overall WGAC are almost 40% cheaper than the best deal on Andrex on Amazon at this moment in time and looking at the price increases recently in the supermarket aisles, I’m sure it beats many others too.

Once I knew this I jumped onto ordering with Who Gives a Crap. (Please note that I have only used their recycled paper option so can only give feedback on this product. They do also do a bamboo roll as well as tissues and kitchen roll).

The rolls arrive in one large cardboard box which, of course, can also be recycled and with having one large delivery like this you can be sure that they will tie you over for a long time… You just need to make sure you have the storage in your home in place! If it helps, we store ours under the bed.

Subscription

Your subscription can be set to the intervals that you require and these can be easily changed as and when you need. We first began ours at delivery every 12 weeks but I quickly realised that we needed to leave longer between as we just weren’t getting through it all. For us, a family of 4 we are now happy with every 16 weeks and we never, ever run out!

Subscriptions available are as follows:

• Every 2 months (5-6 people in the home)*

• Every 3 months (3-4 people)

• Every 4 months (1-2 people)

*These are estimations as you can see we go through the amount recommended for 1-2 people in the home. This further proves how economical it is.

Using The Toilet Paper

I know some people can be quite particular about the quality of their toilet paper and I’m sure many of us have memories of the cheap recycled stuff we had to use at school back in the day (hello Primary School in the 80’s!) but I promise you that just because a toilet paper these days is made from recycled paper, it does not mean it scrimps on the comfort side of things. In fact, I didn’t notice any difference between this and the ordinary Andrex we were previously using. It is thick (3 ply), it is soft, it is strong and it lasts a really long time.

The paper used to make the WGAC toilet paper is recycled from used office paper and it is biodegradable plus septic tank safe. It is also chemical (natural bleach is used rather than chlorine) and perfume free so no nasties to cause irritation.

Money Back Guarantee

I love companies that offer this, I feel it really shows how real they are:

“We’re absolutely sure that you’re going to love our toilet paper, but sometimes things just don’t work out the way you expect. If, for whatever reason, you aren’t happy with your purchase, we offer free returns and your money back for orders purchased through our website. LOVE it or your money back. No questions asked!“

Overall Thoughts

It’s safe to say that as we have been customers for the last 4 years that we do indeed love this toilet paper. We never run out, we haven’t lost out on quality, we have eliminated the single-use plastic issue we had with other brands, the subscription means that we don’t have to remember to add toilet rolls to our shopping list, the subscription service allows us to easily make changes and we have saved money.

If you are looking to make this swap for your home you can do so via the Who Gives a Crap website here and use the code BESPOKE to receive £5 ($10) off your very first order.

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