Why Paper Isn't Always Better
 Many consumers often think that if they use paper products over cotton and other products, that they are making more eco-friendly choices because paper is often viewed as biodegradable. Biodegradation is the chemical breakdown of materials by the environment. Organic material can be broken down with oxygen (aerobically) or without oxygen (anaerobically). Typically, materials that are biodegradable are organic in composition, such as plants, animals or products composed of materials from living organisms. That is why paper often fits into this category, unless treated with non-biodegradable materials, because it is derived from trees.
Allen Hershkowitz of the Natural Resources Defense Council once commented on the fact that ironically toilet paper is often used for less than three seconds, yet the ecological consequences of manufacturing it from trees are extremely severe. “Making toilet paper from virgin wood is a lot worse than driving Hummers in terms of global warming pollution,” he said. Additionally, other experts have noted that producing paper for things such as tissues significantly impacts the environments because of the chemicals utilized while manufacturing the pulp along with the practices used to harvest forests.
Well-known environmental activist organization Greenpeace has launched a campaign in an attempt to raise awareness in the United States regarding the toll our bathroom habits have on the environment in response to large-scale marketing campaigns that have been created to persuade consumers to purchase luxury brands. The organization is working aggressively to develop other programs to bring awareness and protect forests and streams from problems related to paper production.
As over 98% of the toilet paper sold in the United States comes from virgin forests, it is important that consumers choose to purchase either toilet paper made in part or in whole from recycled paper. Brands such as Seventh Generation and Green Forest produce recycled and chlorine-free toilet paper that is better for you and better for the environment. It is important that consumers research individual companies claiming to produce eco-friendly products to make sure these claims are true. You can do so by contacting the companies directly for more information on their practices during production. For all of these reasons, it is important for consumers to understand that paper is not always the most eco-friendly choice. Alternatives such as hemp for producing paper products is much more eco-friendly. Hemp not only produces an excellent paper product but an entire field can be renewed in months rather than decades as with trees. EnviroCitizen.org has done its research and proudly offers a wide selection of both recycled paper products and alternative paper products.
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