Toilet paper is so common in some countries it’s only noticed when it’s not there, as exemplified by the panic buying that prompted shortages when the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. Thought to be in use in China since the sixth century, inventor Joseph C. Gayetty patented the first U.S. commercial “medicated paper” in the 1850s. Since then, demand has soared in many places, bolstered by rising population, urbanization, shifts in demographics, changing hygiene practices, and lifestyle choices influenced by advertising. Still, only 25-30% of the world uses TP today; the rest rinse with water or use other means. Regardless, by 2023, yearly revenue in the toilet paper sector (dry and wet toilet paper) totaled $107.4 billion, with sales of nearly 46 million metric tons, a market expected to grow annually planetwide by 5.92%. The most revenue is generated in populous China, amounting to $22.33 billion in 2023, where growth is forecast at 7% per year until 2027, according to Statista analyst Apurva Janrao. With so much TP flying off the rolls, “People need to start thinking about [the sector’s] environmental impact,” says AidEnvironment researcher Okita Miraningrum. Those adverse effects pop up along the entire supply chain, from sourcing in native forests and on eucalyptus plantations; to energy-, water- and chemical-intensive manufacturing practices; to transport and packaging; and to the final flush, after which waste TP can tax sewage treatment facilities. A big red flag: the link of some toilet paper sourcing to the loss of old-growth forests. The Canadian…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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