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Toilet paper startups

fastcompany.com

42 pointsprostoalex49 comments

Reminds me of an old youtube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRlBtabKRFM

Anyway, the article made a point how they're "combating deforestation," but is that really true? I always thought that clearing land for farming and cattle was the main cause of deforestation by far, followed by construction and furniture, and that the paper industry tended to plant tree farms since they don't really require old-growth hardwoods, which is why I always opposed recycling paper. Was I wrong in my belief?

Additionally, it feels to me like this is more of a cynical attempt to capitalize on the eco-hippy market rather than any actual concern for the environment. All the people I've talked with who are concerned with environment and waste seem to be moving to bidets to minimize toilet paper use, and intuitively this makes sense to me, though I admit that I haven't done any research on the topic.

At least in the US they grow fast growing trees that are only good for paper pulp[1] —they’re not good for furniture or construction frames (plywood is okay), for example, so “stopping deforestation” is a red herring.

Also some of them are transporting the paper all across the ocean; it’s not a grievous negative, but it’s not a positive.

[1]https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5788e6f23e00be7706ac5...

"It feels to me like this is more of a cynical attempt to capitalize on the eco-hippy market rather than any actual concern for the environment"

Is there a functional difference? The company will die or thrive based on the size of the 'eco-hippy' market (well lots of things, but lets keep it simple), motivation isn't really going to change that. I suppose yes from the customer perspective they are buying warm fuzzy save the polar bear feelings, but then the cynical company will tell them what they want to hear anyway.

A bidet for me would involve replacing plaster and floorboards, the payback time would be massive.

You don't have to replace the full toilet. There are plenty of options that fit on an existing toilet. You can get simple ones that are just spray all the way up to seat replacements with deodorizers and warm water (they require an outlet). It's easier than replacing your floor and not horribly expensive. Your butt and the environment will thank you.

My wife started buying Who Gives A Crap for our household a few months a go and we love it. We went the "mid-tier" quality (although we experimented with the the lower - 1ply tier at first wasn't that bad either). We also get the huge pack with 10 or 20 boxes of tissues included.

> Most mainstream toilet roll brands source their wood pulp from boreal forests in Canada, which are very old and take between 20 to 50 years to regenerate.

it's this kind of crap (pardon the pun) that makes us feel good about using recycled TP.

also, i have to give a shoutout to whoever Who Gives A Crap's copywriters are; the stuff they put on the undersides of the tissue boxes and TP rolls is genuinely hilarious. I worked along side great copywriters years ago, and I can just picture those kind of people sitting around brainstorming funny stuff to adorn the wrapping with.

edit: it's made from bamboo, not recycled.

Why use much TP at all?

https://www.squattypotty.com/shop/bathroom-accessories/dual-...

Doesn't look like they sell anything but 3-ply now.

>> source their wood pulp from boreal forests in Canada, which are very old and take between 20 to 50 years to regenerate.

This is an oxymoron; an old tree between 20-50 years? Young lumber trees are a least twice as old as this.

I would like to know how they test for the crumble factor. Who is assigned to count the number of bits of paper in the butt left after wiping and how much do they get paid.

These are important questions that need to be answered.

nothing that cant be handled with good ol' AI.

There is a mechanical engineering intern somewhere designing a machine to wipe a butt 10,000 times a day to test this.

"Would you pay $3 for a “farm to bathroom” toilet roll?" - Given my salary in Russia at $ 388, then I would not buy toilet paper for $3

Still boggles my mind why the West doesn't use the bum gun.

Environmentally friendly (you can optionally use tissue to dry) and cleans better.

Wiping yourself seems primitive in comparison.

It’s one of the best quality of life upgrades you can make, I recommend bidets to everyone!

The best quality of life upgrade you can make is eat less starch and enjoy non-sticky poop, fixing the root cause of the problem instead of its symptoms.

I wish I could eat keto, unfortunately my body requires starchy food.

And good luck getting the rest of America to voluntarily cut it out!

I went from dry TP only growing up to learning to love the bidet in japan. Now I use a combo of wet/dry TP to get as clean as I can. I also don't spend much time (or any time in public) between pooping and a shower.

I miss ShitBegone (http://www.shitbegone.com/), which we used to buy for our coop house.

Artesenal toilet paper may be this bubble's WebVan...

Maybe Mr. Hanky will be the spokes-poo in superbowl commercials for the product.

I’m so sad Silicon Valley wrapped before artesian TP got its big break.

Bidet disrupts big toiled paper roll.

We have three young kids, and I've gotten a lot of funny looks over the past couple years when I tell people that if one of them pooped in their diaper, we washed their nether regions with soap and water.

It absolutely baffles me that the same people who freak out about the possibility of there being germs on their kid's pacifier will wipe up poop with a wet wipe and send the kid on their way.

Even as an adult, I don't get how people think of toilet paper as having any "cleaning" power. It just seems wildly unsanitary if you bother to think about it, which is why I suppose most people choose not to.

I always liked the argument, if your belly button was your butthole, would you wipe it with TP and call it good?

Sorry but I think that's a silly argument.

Use the right cleanliness tool for the job. For a sidewalk, powerwash it. For a cast-iron pan, you wipe it out and maybe use oil and salt.

That's not to say that a bidet isn't the right tool - but the justification needs to show why it is the right tool, not just point at other body parts and say "the right tool for my hands is soap and water, therefore the right tool everywhere is soap and water."

Should I be putting salt on my cast iron? I have so much to learn.

You can do whatever you want with cast iron. Just don't leave standing water in it. The whole point of a cast iron pan is that it can take whatever abuse you throw at it.

Yes, you're probably better off not washing it out every time you use it, but if you make chili or something like that, you're going to want to wash it out at the end.

Just after you wash it, put it on the stove to dry it off, then rub some oil into it.

Skin is the same everywhere, it seems disingenuous to claim that one skin area needs different care from another without more evidence. Similarly cast-iron pans seems to be an internet thing, soap and/or powerwashing would presumably work just fine.

The only exception I can think of to soap and water for cleaning is delicate fabrics or sensitive optics, but there the issue is the liquid used rather than the general process.

That's not quite true, anal region is slightly more sensitive. There are improved cleaning agents that are less irritating, but are still not commonly used. (Some old bidets have too strong water jet. It's unpleasant.)

It's not as sensitive as mouth though. We don't use soap with grit and fluoride anymore to clean teeth and mouth nowadays.

He didn't say his hands though, he said his belly button. The two are pretty similar in their location and use in day to day life. If someone got poop on their belly button, I would bet money that they'd feel pretty disgusting until they were able to get home and take a shower.

Relating to my comment above, we let our kids wander around the house naked from time to time. I feel perfectly comfortable letting them sit on the furniture because I know they aren't spreading poop everywhere.

But then again, people let their pets inside, and they put even less effort into post-bathroom cleanup than humans do...

> But then again, people let their pets inside, and they put even less effort into post-bathroom cleanup than humans do...

Do you own pets? Most don't need post-bathroom cleanup. They have different anatomy, imagine that.

EDIT: They also don't poop in unnatural positions.

You've clearly never heard of cats and the amount of time they spend cleaning their butts...

Good thing it isnt? What a stupid argument. People have gotten by just fine without making their asses wet and patting them dry everytime they shit for a while now. How do you know the water doesn't just spread shit everywhere and you don't clean it up properly?

This comment is really unbecoming of me. I honestly was just kinda peeved at the entire conversation and should have passed by without leaving a negative thought.

I think TP alone does a fine enough job but you need to go the extra step to wet it after your initial wipes. I'm lucky enough to have long arms and a sink well within reach from the toilet. I think I'd be easier to can people off just using dry paper than expecting them to lather up with soap every time.

People laugh when I say this, but one of the main reasons I want to buy my own house is to to install a bidet in all the toilets. As someone who’s been using toilet paper only for about three years, I find it absolutely disgusting.

You can get one of the cheaper $20-60 washlets on Amazon (I like Luxe Bidet), they tap into the toilet’s water line and can be installed in under 20 minutes. And when it’s time for you to move out, they’re just as easy to remove and your landlord will never know how squeaky clean your butt is!

Thanks, didn’t know this was a thing. I’ll check it out.

Until then, I suggest these[0] as the next-best option.

[0] https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057...

Also available at Amazon etc.

I'd like to try some of them but none of them pass the wife test. She's extremely picky on what TP we buy. I would eventually like to install a bidet however.

I can't believe they could highlight 5 toilet paper companies, and not find one Bidet startup to mention.

Especially with the focus on the environment in that article.

>> or have received pre-seed rounds of under a million dollars

Our priorities as civilisation are seriously wrong when these enterprises get any funding. "Under a million" is a vast amount of money - that can be used to actually make someone's life better or save lives.

I still have a roll of dot-com toilet paper that looks like a stock ticker. Most of them really did end up worthless, but AMZN is on there too.

There’s 2 boxes from “who gives a crap” on our foyer right now. When did instagram become the product discovery platform?

I just use 3M 60 grit. Cheaper and less scratchy than the stuff they sell at Whole Foods.

Reminds me of .com bubble

Are any of these VC funded?

Else, I'm sure VC firms, especially Softbank, are currently doing a due-diligence on some of these.

Perhaps we'll have a new entrant in the market with brand Soft-n-firm.

Edit: I guess the downvoter missed the /s at the end.

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