Who Gives a Crap Recycled Toilet Paper Review 2023 | Sustainable, Eco-Friendly Toilet Paper
The Top Line:
MIXED Buy. We tried Who Gives a Crap bulk packaged, zero-waste, recyclable TP. Fun and spunky, doubles as décor, this TP gets the job done (thank goodness). We loved stacking these— and playing catch in the apartment during quarantine.
[Update Jan 2024]: Given substantial price changes, we updated the price comparison grid in Toilet Paper. WGAC Recycled TP falls below the price average.
[Originally published in March 2020; Update as of 14 August 2021]: we are going to a mixed buy on Who Gives a Crap recycled toilet paper. Our reasoning is as follows:
We love the fact that WGAC is a B-Corporation ❤️
We love, love the fact that 50% of profits are given to charity ❤️❤️
We also love that this is probably the best recycled option in terms of quality that we have tried. ❤️
The drag is that it is on the pricey side, and if you lack space, the bulk can be annoying, but we think it may be compensated by the above 3 bullets + the rolls themselves are a decent size!
Thank you to a reader who led us to re-visit this review!
The Breakdown:
Cost & Products: $30 for 24 rolls or $48 for 48
How ‘Clean’ Is This? Eco-friendly 100% Recycled Toilet paper — there is a bamboo option for an upcoming review.
Packaging: We ordered a box of 24 (this is more than we like to store in our small apartment, but it’s the smallest option they have)
Purchasing & Shipping: Website is clean & straightforward. Shipping is free on purchases over $25.
Good to Know: The Premium TP is 100% bamboo (reviewed here) while the regular one is made of recycled paper. The more you buy, the cheaper per roll.
Also Good to Know: A whopping 50% of profits are donated to help build toilets and shipping is carbon neutral. Also, they explain WHY their toilet paper is wrapped here on their blog! Summary: they have to in order to keep the TP sanitary and this is the most eco-friendly way.
Note: Who Gives a Crap is a B-corporation. We love that. Read more about b-corporations here. Normal corporations have a goal to make more money for their owners. B-Corps do that too, but they also set specific, social and ethical goals such as governance, environment, and workers.
What’s Your Impact? No plastic wrapping that comes standard with store-bought TP. The paper is made from recycled paper - no new trees here. New trees take a significant amount of time and resources to grow in order to produce TP.
The Efficacy
We have used Scott, Seventh Generation and Cottonelle.
Well, it is not Cottonelle
Does not shred like wimpy gas station TP - so no danger of disintegration when you need paper most :)
We would compare this more akin to the $1 Scott or Seventh Generation recycled TP
For the amount of potential good that can come of this, we do not mind the non-Cottonelle softness
The Cost
One source suggests that the average person uses 100 rolls of toilet paper per year, so we are going to use that for cost comparison. It is also difficult for us to gauge the average price of toilet paper since most stores have sold out.
Money Thoughts: Not bad compared to the other options. WGAC Recycled TP is only a bit more expensive than quilted Northern. Also, the Who Gives a Crap packaging is super pretty and can double as decorative accents. :)
The Good:
✔ You probably won’t do an Ali Wong with the TP (NSFW, starts at minute 1:15)
✔ It’s kind of pretty/accidentally decorative
✔ No plastic!
✔ Recycled paper
✔ Easy on septic tanks!
✔ 50% of profits are given to charity to build toilets in underserved areas
✔ B-corporation ❤️
The Bad:
✗ If you can’t fit 24 rolls in your tiny NYC studio, this would be a problem — OR — you could decorate with the fun rolls
✗Unless you use a discount, expensive when buying the 24 pack
Our Recommendation:
MIXED buy. We thought the Who Gives a Crap Recycled Toilet Paper was fun, worked better than the average TP (we may still treat ourselves to a Cottonelle every now and then), but we like that the feel of paper was more substantial than Seventh Generation (our previous favorite). While the TP looks cute and is zero-waste, the price here makes it a tough call.
We're on a mission to reduce our personal carbon footprint with small, hopefully easy, changes in our home to fight against climate change. This means we're looking for products that may be all natural, ideally zero waste, reusable or compostable -- while still being affordable!
