When we think about industries that have a large carbon footprint, we often think about the fast-fashion, aviation, and automotive industries. But toilet paper is one that should not be overlooked.
Over 700 million healthy trees are cut down every year to fulfill the worldwide demand for toilet paper. To combat this, some people are using the Plectranthus barbatus plant as an alternative.
"I learned about it from my grandfather and have been using it ever since. It's soft and has a nice smell," Benjamin Mutembei shared with the BBC. He's a resident of Meru, Kenya, and has been growing the plant since 1985 after learning about it from his grandfather. "This has been an African tissue for a long time, and everyone in my household uses the plant. I only buy modern toilet rolls when the leaves have all been plucked."
Plectranthus barbatus is a green, leafy plant that grows quickly and up to six-and-a-half feet tall in only one to two months. Its leaves are roughly the size of toilet paper squares.
The toilet paper industry is the world's largest consumer of virgin wood with virtually no competition. The final product that results in our commercial toilet paper is also another item that brings PFAS into our homes and waterways.
An environmental activist from the States, Robin Greenfield of Florida, is another advocate of the Plectranthus barbatus plant. He currently runs a "grow your own toilet paper" program at his nursery and grows over 100 of the plants.
"There are many people who associate using the toilet paper plant with poverty," Greenfield shared with the BBC, even though toilet paper is just a processed form of another plant. Overall, he has received great feedback.
"For anybody who feels a little hesitant to try this plant, I would say to drop your worries about what people think about you. And simply by saying, 'I'm going to be me, and that might mean wiping my butt with some really soft leaves that I grow,'" Greenfield said.
Plectranthus barbatus grows best in warm, tropical temperatures and is an invasive species in some areas of the world. While it's not something that the everyday person with limited gardening experience can plant anywhere, it is possible to grow it in an enclosed nursery.
"I've been growing it in my nursery and sharing it with communities across Kenya, and people have been amazed by its convenience," said Martin Odhiambo, a herbalist at the National Museum of Kenya who lectures and runs his own nursery in Nairobi.
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Yes 💯 "I know some people see using leaves as toilet paper as a step backward, but understanding the benefits of this plant, I believe it could become the next green alternative," Odhiambo commented.
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