Who Gives a Crap? We All Can!

“Trees are for hugging. And climbing. And for scared cats, kites, birds, treehouses, swings, snakes (gaaaah), and owls. But you should feel good knowing you’re not wiping your bum with trees.”  

​*Truth from the wrapper of a WHO GIVES A CRAP? roll

Before we began our family’s personal challenge to live more sustainably and give up single-use plastic, I honestly didn’t spend too much time thinking about toilet paper. Caring most about cost, our TP was just something we bought mindlessly in bulk, a few times a year. When we began to pay attention, we wondered how we could avoid the over-packaged rolls, wrapped with plastic in groups of 3, then wrapped AGAIN in plastic.

It wasn’t until we began to research alternatives that we realized conventional toilet paper is a doubly-offensive product; not only wrapped in plastic that isn’t likely to be recycled, but a non-recycled paper product made from virgin trees! Toilet paper alone wipes out 27,000 trees a day! Worldwide, the equivalent of almost 270,000 trees is either flushed or dumped in landfills EVERY DAY and roughly 10% of that total is attributable to toilet paper, according to World Watch magazine. Not only are we cutting virgin trees down, wrapping them in plastic, wiping our bums and flushing them down the toilet, we are consuming loads of energy and water along the way. There IS a better way!

Unless you’re ready to go rogue and install a Bidet, know that there are multiple companies offering better choices. We’ve chosen WHO GIVES A CRAP, because they offer 100% recycled or bamboo toilet paper, and they are a company on a mission to help people with their profits, donating 50% to help build toilets and improve sanitation in the developing world. Delivered in a fully recycled cardboard box, void of any plastic coating, each roll comes in a colorful recycled paper (not plastic!) wrap, covered in cheeky humor. And it is pretty hilarious to watch the mail carrier haul a gigantic box advertising the sentiment WHO GIVES A CRAP across the yard every few months. It makes me want to shout: “WE DO! WE OFFICIALLY GIVE A CRAP!” In the harrowing fight against plastic pollution, and the battle to halt climate change, humor is our best medicine.

For those extra-sensitive times, many of us have taken to purchasing “flushable wipes.” Hands down, they’re downright luxurious. But most wet wipes are made with plastic resins like polyester or polypropylene, and as such, they never fully biodegrade, they simply break into smaller and smaller pieces – releasing countless microscopic plastic fibers into the environment. So don’t believe everything you read! “Flushable” wipes are misleading, should not be flushed, cannot disintegrate in the sewerage system, and cause major blockages. If you must wet-wipe, consider these wipes trash, and dispose of them properly. Or, perhaps this is one luxury you’re willing to forego in the name of reducing single-use plastics? There’s always glass-bottled booty spray, or good ole’ fashioned wash-cloths like our grandmas used for those extra special days!
Sincerely,
Hilary Drake, Founder
Mind Your Plastic