You should…  after all your choice of office cleaning supplies can help the environment or damage it if you pick up the wrong office cleaning supplier. One of the latest reports suggests the biggest damage to our environment is not from the big 4 X 4 cars parked outside the office but the “extra soft quilted” and multi-ply toilet papers being used (Mainly in American offices and homes but becoming more common here in the UK as well!).

The issue is not about the three or four seconds the toilet paper is being used for cleaning and then thrown away but the fact that these luxury papers can only be made from “virgin wood” not from recycled paper which would be more friendly to the environment we live in.

I bet you did not know that the fibres made from pure new wood are longer and consequently easier to lay out in straight lines so they can be fluffed up to generate the softer tissue which Americans are screaming out for in response to very heavy advertising by the toilet cleaning manufacturers.

Toilet paper production is also highlighted as a source of major environmental damage because of the the chemicals used to manufacture the pulp and of course the need to cut down large forests.

The American Natural Resources Defence Council Allen Hershkowitz, (a senior scientist) points out that 98% of the toilets rolls sold in North America comes from virgin forests whereas in Europe and Latin America around 40% of the toilet paper is made up of recycled products a major saving for the the environment and global warming.

Kimberly-Clark one of the largest suppliers of toilet paper have forecast that quilted papers (made by pumping air between layers of paper) and papers which incorporate hand lotion (designed to coat the bottom during the 3 second wipe) are the fastest growing brands in the US market.  The New York Times reported a 40% rise in sales of luxury brands of toilet paper in 2008. Not surprising as Kimberly-Clark alone spent 25million dollars in the third quarter of last year solely on on promoting these luxury toilet brands. (Who says the credit crunch is biting the hands that wipe and clean up the profits?)

The Forestry Campaigner for Greenpeace USA Lindsay Allen says he believes that,  “We have this myth in the US that recycled paper is just so low quality, it’s like cardboard and is impossible to use.” The fact is that some recycled toilet papers are harder but looking around it is easy to find the right compromise.  A toilet paper that cleans without scratching but environmentally sound.

We at Clean Care Scotland try to encourage the use of toilet papers made largely of recycled paper when agreeing contracts but also shy away from the cheapest brands which are known to be harder and not so gentle on the skin. It is a case of being balanced in our approach after all most of our customers buy their own cleaning supplies and simply leave us to replace them in the holders.