Here are 5 Sustainable Toilet Paper Startups Hitting Huge Growth
This is especially helpful during the COVID-19 situation
It’s an all too common scene around the world.
As people are flocking to their supermarket in search of supplies and food, there is already one item that is already in shortage, toilet paper.
Many have taken to social media to demonstrate the situation with similar scenarios happening across countries where hoards of people mass buying toilet paper, leaving shelves empty.
The toilet paper industry itself has been under some scrutiny. This is especially the case where the bigger companies utilize exclusively, fresh-cut trees. For example, some of those come from the boreal forests of Canada, which are exceedingly old trees. This causes not only major problems to the ecosystem but also means these trees most likely will not grow back.
“Forests play a fundamental role in combating rural poverty, ensuring food security and providing people with livelihoods. And they deliver vital environmental services such as clean air and water, the conservation of biodiversity and combating climate change,” said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva
As the world moves towards more social isolation, these startups are offering a more sustainable approach to the toilet paper dilemma.
These brands are not only doing great but providing something positive to the environment and the world.
1. №2
No2 was founded by Samira Fair in 2017 on the back of her newly sold business.
Her initial thoughts were that the industry itself was very outdated and branding for toilet paper was old in general.
What she ended up discovering was a new way of producing toilet paper in a more sustainable way.
“Initially I looked at it as: The branding is super old, the packaging is super old, there’s a way to do this better so it’s cute for the bathroom,” she says. “But in my research I actually started to see that there’s actually a way to do it so it’s environmentally friendly and doesn’t have as many chemicals inside of the paper as it usually does.”
This has led to utilizing 100% bamboo through all the toilet paper. They are also certified by the Forest Stewardship Council which assesses sustainable forestry.
№2 provided more up-to-date information that their Amazon sales had increased 1,643%.
Headquarters: Los Angeles, CA
Founded Date: 2017
2. Who Gives A Crap
This Aussie Toilet Paper startup hit shelves in 2013 with their toilet paper, paper towels and facial tissues.
Co-founders Danny Alexander and Simon Griffiths set up a crowdfunding campaign in 2013 which ended a success. They actually ended up employing a clever stunt where they live-streamed their co-founder sitting on a toilet until they hit their goal (for 50 hours!).
What is even more amazing is the company gives half of its profits to charity to increase access to toilets and sanitation in developing countries.
Who Gives A Crap’s premium bamboo toilet paper, focuses on their “softest loo roll ever,” is made without dyes, scents or inks.
Headquarters: Melbourne, Victoria, AU
Founded: 2012
Crowdfunding Round: $50K
Seed Round: $200K
3. Bippy
Bibby rolls in as one of the younger entries into this list.
What started from a conversation around the deforestation of hardwood trees ended up with Lisa Frame and Isidro Hurtado starting their own startup focused around creating sustainable toilet paper.
Like №2, Bibby focuses on utilizing bamboo fibers within its rolls which creates more oxygen, uses more carbon and doesn’t have to be replanted.
This is what Bippy causes as a “triple threat of environment sustainability”
Bippy joined Backstage Capital’s Accelerator program as a part of its first cohort in 2019 and received $100,000 in funding.
Headquarters: Los Angeles, California, US
Founded: 2019
Seed Round: $100K
4. The Cheeky Panda
Another bamboo entry, entrepreneur couple Chris Forbes and Julie Chen started The Cheeky Panda in 2016.
“Our Mission? To bring Sustainability to the mass-market in our own fun, cheeky way. Inspire people to ditch the mundane in favour of a product for our future. A better you. A better planet”. — Cheeky Panda
A more seasoned toilet paper veteran in the list, they are focused on providing an environmentally friendly and sustainable alternative in the form of toilet paper, paper towels, tissues and wet and drive wipes.
What’s even more amazing is that The Cheeky Panda is the first UK tissue company to become a Certified B Corporation. This means their business model is verified to be socially and environmentally impactful whilst being publically transparent with a balance of profit and purpose.
Having raised not only an angel and Series A round but The Cheeky Panda has also raised multiple successful crowd equity rounds.
Headquarters: Brentwood, England, UK
Founded: 2016
Total Funding Amount: £3.5M
5. Peach
Peach, a “luxury bath tissue brand”, was started by Aaron Doades in 2017. Unlike some of the other brands, Peach is the only toilet paper startup here that uses wood pulp (virgin fiber).
Although this might be a less eco-friendly option, the brand states that they source directly from a farm in the US under sustainable, plantation-grown eucalyptus fiber. They also empathize their rolls are “organic” and their packing is 100% recyclable.
What makes it interesting is Peach utilizes a subscription model.
Instead of buying direct, users pay for a monthly subscription to receive a package of Peach toilet paper.
Additionally, 10% of all profits go to Safe Horizon, an organization that helps survivors of domestic abuse, human trafficking, and child abuse.
Headquarters: New York, US
Founded: 2017
Seed: $500K
Summary
Although many startups are burning in the current markets, these ones are not only producing something positive but recording record sales.
Many of the founders have even stated that many of their sales came from organic searches rather than ads.
This might mean people are slowly opening up to the idea of using a more sustainable roll for their business.
