How your loo roll could save our planet
THE CHEEKY PANDA USES BAMBOO TO CREATE ECO-FRIENDLY TISSUES AND WIPES
IF you were asked to list the top five things you think about when sitting on the loo, it’s probably safe to assume the future of the planet wouldn’t be one of them.
But what if you knew that 27,000 trees are cut down across the world every day just to make that very toilet paper you’re about to use, along with other tissue products? Puts a simple trip to the bathroom in a whole new light, doesn’t it.
Fortunately, UK start up The Cheeky Panda has come up with an interesting, attractive and much more sustainable alternative.
Rather than use wood pulp and the harsh chemicals that go with it to create its toilet and kitchen rolls, facial tissues, baby wipes and napkins, Chris Forbes and Julie Chen, the dynamic couple behind the brand, have turned instead to bamboo sourced from sustainably managed forests.
This under-utilised wonder plant is grown in China on a very natural diet of sun and water, where it thrives so well that there’s no need for nasty herbicides or pesticides.
Unlike trees, which take an average of 30 years to be mature enough to harvest, bamboo harvests every year. In even better news, while pandas love to feed on bamboo, there are more than 1,000 varieties and the one The Cheeky Panda uses doesn’t tend to be eaten by our furry friends.
Protecting the planet and the animals that live on it is a key concern for The Cheeky Panda. When it comes to carbon emissions, for instance – a real issue, due to the fact that they damage our health and cause climate change – Chris and Julie work hard to ensure their brand is carbon neutral.
Not only does the creation of each sheet of The Cheeky Panda bamboo toilet paper produce 31 per cent less emissions than recycled toilet tissue and a massive 65.5 per cent less than non-recycled-paper toilet tissue, but any unavoidable carbon emissions are offset through the business’s partnership with World Land Trust.
This collaboration has led to Vietnam’s Khe Nuoc Trong rainforest being protected and rebuilt, which means even more carbon emissions can be soaked up by its trees.
The Cheeky Panda range is stocked at Morrisons, Boots, Superdrug, Booths, WHSmith and independent retailers, as well as online at Amazon and at delivery business Milk & More, so it couldn’t be easier to find.
And that might give you something else to think about during your next trip to the loo.