Apr 27, 2023

One million trees are cut down every day for toilet roll.

In our new TV advert, you will have heard the shocking statistic that one million trees are cut down every day for toilet roll.

In fact, 1m trees per day is a conservative estimate.

Globally the average person uses 127 toilet rolls a year* amounting to 42million tonnes of toilet roll per year**.

On average a tree generates 59.96kg pulp so just over 700m trees are needed for the world’s current annual toilet paper consumption if all of this was made from virgin pulp, or 1.91m trees every day***.

While some alternative materials are used, like recycled paper or bamboo, Kimberley Clark estimate that only 25% of the global market is recycled so 1m trees daily is a low estimate. In the US, the biggest market for toilet roll consumption, less than 2% of the market is recycled****. While bamboo is also growing fast, it still makes up a small proportion of the global market.

Serious Tissues are made from 100% recycled paper, so no trees are cut down to make them – and we plant trees with every sale.

Serious Tissues have planted 1.7million trees across nine countries including the UK, Indonesia, Nepal, Madagascar, Mozambique and Kenya. They currently plant the tree equivalent of six Hyde Parks every single week. (c.4k trees in Hyde Park***** and we’re planting over 24k each week).

--

* https://www.statista.com/chart/15676/cmo-toilet-paper-consumption/
** Based on 2021 population figures.
*** https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IOBDcixSgD5Lgz2gT3UmPb0i4EIvI4bs/view
**** https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/fight-climate-change-use-recycled-toilet-paper-and-less-of-it-1.1217283
***** https://www.hortweek.com/hyde-parks-trees-worth-173m-benefits/arboriculture/article/1465058

Switch to serious

Seriously Sustainable Toilet Roll

UK Made, recycled, plastic free & every box sequesters 11% of your annual carbon footprint.

shop toilet roll

5.900KG+

ocean plastic
removed

1,000,000+

trees
planted

17 years+

employment
created

FAQs

Serious Tissues are manufactured in the Midlands. By producing in the UK we’re also able to reduce the carbon footprint of our toilet paper. Our loo roll is made from 100% recycled paper and without any unnecessary chemicals (dyes, perfumes, etc.)

Serious Tissues are made from recycled paper (also known as post consumer waste) - no trees are harmed in the making of this product. We use recycled paper - from newspapers, cereal boxes, etc. - instead of bamboo because the carbon footprint is smaller, and we don’t have to ship the bamboo from China. We’re produced in the UK and the source material is also from within the UK.

You can find more information on our tree planting dashboard here. Our current tree planting partner globally is Veritree.

In the past Serious has partnered with different associations, helping run tree planting projects all around the world including Eden Reforestation Projects and The Tree Council. Our partners work with local communities, providing work for those who need it, often in areas affected by extreme poverty. We have planted trees in the UK, Nepal, Indonesia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Kenya, Ethiopia, Haiti & Central America.

The health of our oceans is vital to the health of our
planet. For the past 200 years, oceans have absorbed up to 40% of CO2 produced
by human activity but early signs are showing the rise of microplastics in our
seas is disrupting their capacity to act as a natural carbon sink. Plastic is entering our seas at an alarming rate and if the current trend continues, they could contain more plastic than fish by 2050.

That’s why we’re working to cut off the flow of plastic into
the ocean.

For every pack of Serious laundry detergent or bar
soaps we sell, we recover 1kg of ocean-bound plastic. That’s the equivalent of fifty 500ml plastic bottles or 500 crisp packets.

Ocean-bound plastic is defined as the collection of
plastic waste in a 100km radius from the coastline (as defined in the Verra Plastic Standards) that would otherwise not have been collected and would most
likely end up in the ocean. Essentially it is an intervention to divert this plastic safely away from oceans before it has a chance to leak into it.

Recovery is currently managed by our partner, Repurpose
Global, and more information will be available soon on our ‘Plastics’ page.

All of the packaging is plastic free and 100% recyclable.

They are made in Sweden.

Because the laundry strips product is 95% lighter than traditional laundry detergents and far smaller, it means the carbon footprint from shipping is lower than other bulkier products.

We are looking to find a UK supplier soon, but we didn’t want to waste time getting the product to market so we could start making an impact by helping people reduce their plastic consumption and recovering plastic from nature.