Olivia for the Ocean

Plastic-Free Toilet Paper & Alternatives

At the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, when people were buying a palette of toilet paper, I laughed a little. But after a month, when the toilet paper aisles were still empty and my plastic-free alternatives were still out of stock, I started to worry.

If I have learned anything from this pandemic, it is the next time people are hoarding anything, the least I can do is buy an extra one of whatever it is–if it’s something I actually need. Note: I didn’t say buy an extra palette…just an extra one. Remember to leave some for others.

Anyways, after a few weeks of monitoring our toilet paper supply, I started looking at the different options.

Paper Wrapped Toilet Paper

The most popular type of plastic-free toilet paper are ones that are wrapped in paper. Duh, right? If you work in a corporate office, you know that office toilet paper is generally wrapped in paper. Given the growing concern about plastic pollution, more paper-wrapped options for home-use are popping up.

Who Gives a Crap?

The most popular brand of paper wrapped toilet paper is Who Gives a Crap? They have great marketing and with a name like “Who Gives a Crap?”, it makes you curious, right?

So, I bought a box of the recycled toilet paper. It was cute. I love that it’s recycled paper and they donate a portion of their proceeds to help build toilets in 3rd world countries!

The only thing was, I hated the toilet paper. I know, bummer. The recycled toilet paper would tear easily. And when you’re wiping the bums of a little kid, that sucks.

So, I would not recommend the recycled paper. My best friend, who also has young kids, said she tried the premium version and it passed all the tests in her house. After I run out of my current stock, I will try the premium version to see how we like it.

Hopefully, by then they will have restocked. During the crazy surge of toilet paper panic buying, their stock was completely cleared out.

Bim Bam Boo

After my issues with Who Gives a Crap recycled toilet paper, I searched for another option on Amazon for my kids. I would continue to use the rest of the box from Who Gives a Crap and I bought a box of paper wrapped bamboo toilet paper from Bim Bam Boo.

This bamboo toilet paper worked much better. The only downside was that the rolls were noticeably smaller than a regular roll of toilet paper. So, a little more expensive, but really when you’re wiping someone else’s poop, a little extra money so you don’t end up with poop on your hands is well worth it!

Professional Brands

The other options is to buy the same brand that your office provides. You already know you like it and those are generally wrapped in paper. There’s the Scott brand professional toilet paper that I was considering before I decided on Who Gives a Crap.

I’ve also heard from a friend that you can buy office style toilet paper from Staples.com. Whatever your choice, just make sure if you buy the professional version to see the size of the center. My office switched to a tube-less style so the center gap is very small and thus would not fit on my toilet paper holder.

Wee Wipes

I’ve heard hardcore zero wasters talking about a family cloth before. But the word family cloth just makes it sound gross. It makes it sound like everyone in the family is sharing one towel for their business and that’s not my jam.

Then I heard one of the zero waste influencers talk about “Wee Wipes” which for some reason made it sound better. It’s basically pieces of cloth slightly larger than a make-up application round used to wipe after peeing. After wiping you rinse it off and put it in the washer with the rest of your laundry.

There were questions of whether this was unsanitary but a gynecologist confirmed that it was sanitary considering you get a little bit of pee on your underwear anyways.

To purchase some wee wipes, make sure you look for 100% cotton wipes. You don’t want to be flushing polyester (plastic) microfibers down your drain when you wash them. These wipes cloth wipes from Marley’s Monsters are 100% cotton flannel.

If you’re handy with a sewing machine, you can make your own. Before COVID-19, I cut up some old burp cloths from when my kids were babies and starting trying out wee wipes. It took a few days to figure out a system and only once did I forget what I was doing and accidentally dropped it in the toilet. That only has to happen once before you remember each time. Overall, I felt cleaner since I knew there wasn’t extra toilet paper lint hanging out down there. And it prepared me for the next option.

Bidets

A few weeks into the shelter-in-place order when I started worrying about our toilet paper supply and began looking for a bidet. If you’ve never heard of a bidet, it’s basically a little spray for your tushy after you’ve done your business.

Of course, like everything else during this time, I was a little late to the game and the bidet that I wanted was sold out and wouldn’t ship until June. So, I bought a bidet from Tushy and am awaiting its arrival.

My best friend is more organized and a little more prepared than me. She was able to purchase and receive one before the frenzy. Her family loves theirs. So, I’m hoping I will too.

In the meantime, my husband said I could always use a spray bottle while I wait for the real thing. So, if you’re not sure if you want to invest in a bidet, try a “ghetto bidet” and use a spray bottle or squirt bottle for a few weeks and see what you think.

Wet Wipes PSA: Don’t Flush Them!

Before going plastic-free, I used to use wet wipes. I already had Eco by Naty wipes in the house with my first child being a baby and it seemed like a good idea.

These used to read “flushable” on the package but there’s been a recent surge of ordinances and laws preventing companies from printing “flushable” on their wipes. Why?

Most wipes do not dissolve and gum up the machines at the sewage treatment plants. What’s worse is that most wipes are made with plastic. So, every time you flush a wet wipes down the toilet, you’re putting more plastic into the ocean. Super bummer.

So, while it might seem like a good idea, skip the wet wipes all together or at the very least, throw it in the trash.

What do you think? After you’ve depleted your ~~palette~~ stock of toilet paper, are you interested in trying one of these options? Or do you have other suggestions? Tell me in the comments!

For related and random posts, check out: