i give a crap.

about our planet, about my impact on it and what i can do to reduce the negative impact of my life, habits and choices. i even think about what and how much toilet paper i’m using.

i’m a firm believer of the ‘if it’s yellow, let it mellow’ toilet flushing practice. i’m also a firm believer of using the least amount of toilet paper possible to get the job done (3 squares, in case you were wondering!).

i have a thing about pipes and plumbing. part of this is just curiosity about where things go when you flush. and part of this is that in my previous job at sangam world centre, I oversaw redoing the entire sanitation system. (it was 37 toilets, 14 bathrooms, 5 kitchens AND all the plumbing needed for those things too, in case you were wondering!)

why do we even use toilet paper? it’s such a random choice that has been around for centuries. the first recorded use of toilet paper was during the 6th century ad in china. by the 14th century, 1 province in china was producing over 10 million packages of toilet paper a year!

in many parts of the world, the plumbing and sewage system can’t take sewage, much less anything extra like toilet paper. and this is usually where societies and cultures use water instead of toilet paper.

modern toilet paper’s invention is often credited to joseph gayetty from the us. he introduced his paper in 1857 and it was sold until the 1920s! since it’s modern inception, toilet paper has taken many forms. colors, spliter-free, softness and increased thickness. manufacturers spend countless hours and lots of money on market research to improve their product. in american stores, there are so many choices of toilet paper. it’s impossible to know which one to buy, no matter what your criteria for toilet paper is.

entire forests are grown and cut down just to make toilet paper. 1 tree can produce 200 rolls of toilet paper. Global toilet paper consumption requires 27,000 trees PER DAY. that’s a lot of trees…

but there’s a company that gives a crap.

‘who gives a crap’ is the best toilet paper company ever! they make recycled toilet paper. PLUS 50% of the profits from their toilet paper go towards building toilets in countries that need better sanitation! how amazing is that?!?!

so next time you are in the bathroom, think about what you can do to help our planet. turn the water off when you are brushing your teeth. take shorter showers. or change the toilet paper you use.

you too can give a crap!