Michael
Mar 6th 2009, 03:31 PM
Apologies for the pun in the thread title - I couldn't resist. :D
America's Love Affair with Really Soft Toilet Paper Is Causing an Environmental Catastrophe
...
The numbers are shocking: More than 98 percent of the toilet paper we use in the US is from virgin forests, the Guardian reports. Across the world, people are struggling to save our forests from deforestation, and instead of helping out, we're wiping are butts with our best defense against climate change.
...
...Fluffiness comes at a price: millions of trees harvested in North America and in Latin American countries, including some percentage of trees from rare old-growth forests in Canada. Although toilet tissue can be made at similar cost from recycled material, it is the fiber taken from standing trees that help give it that plush feel, and most large manufacturers rely on them.
Source (http://www.alternet.org/environment/129351/america%27s_love_affair_with_really_soft_toilet_pa per_is_causing_an_environmental_catastrophe/?page=entire)
Wow! You learn something new every day I guess! This does look like an issue that could really use some market intervention to address.
By the same token, I think this issue highlights one of the flaws in our commercial system - the ignorance of consumers (and the unwillingness of companies to supply information) leads to many consumers making uninformed choices that are then cited by the manufacturers as a 'consumer preference' that they have to abide by.
Anyone have any thoughts on how a 'problem' like this one can be addressed?
America's Love Affair with Really Soft Toilet Paper Is Causing an Environmental Catastrophe
...
The numbers are shocking: More than 98 percent of the toilet paper we use in the US is from virgin forests, the Guardian reports. Across the world, people are struggling to save our forests from deforestation, and instead of helping out, we're wiping are butts with our best defense against climate change.
...
...Fluffiness comes at a price: millions of trees harvested in North America and in Latin American countries, including some percentage of trees from rare old-growth forests in Canada. Although toilet tissue can be made at similar cost from recycled material, it is the fiber taken from standing trees that help give it that plush feel, and most large manufacturers rely on them.
Source (http://www.alternet.org/environment/129351/america%27s_love_affair_with_really_soft_toilet_pa per_is_causing_an_environmental_catastrophe/?page=entire)
Wow! You learn something new every day I guess! This does look like an issue that could really use some market intervention to address.
By the same token, I think this issue highlights one of the flaws in our commercial system - the ignorance of consumers (and the unwillingness of companies to supply information) leads to many consumers making uninformed choices that are then cited by the manufacturers as a 'consumer preference' that they have to abide by.
Anyone have any thoughts on how a 'problem' like this one can be addressed?