Hi there fellow Steemians. I thought it would be a good idea to raise awareness about the effects of conventional toilet paper on our health and the environment.

I don't like to just write about all the doom and gloom so I have included some alternatives which have less impact on our health and the environment too.

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Joseph Gayetty is considered to be the inventor of the modern toilet paper. At the end of the 19th Century he patented and sold flat sheets of medicated paper. Since then it has become a staple pretty much everywhere in the world. There are a variety of different styles available aiming to create a pleasant experience to clean our intimate areas with after we have done our 'business'.
I remember when I was a child the first Recycled toilet paper on a shelf in the Grocery store before me. I remember feeling completely grossed out about it. I actually thought that they'd fished out the used paper in the sewers, reshaped and molded it into what appeared in front of me.
Ok... so I was way off but I was only about 8 years old, it was the eighties and no one really gave a crap (pardon the pun) about the environment back then. But we did start to learn that cutting down trees for paper was one of the first major steps in our awareness of deforestation and the impact we as a collective species are having on the planet.

Fast forward 30 or so years...

There are hundreds of initiatives to reduce and recycle paper. So why are we still cutting down trees for it then? Apparently our desires to want strong and cotton wool soft cloud like material on our posteriors has created a demand for the use of virgin wood.
Since the paperless movement, in the last few years there has been a significant decrease in the amount of paper readily available to recycle also.
The effects on the environment, even if the sourcing practices are considered to be sustainable, are detrimental. There are whole ecosystems that grow in conjunction with the trees. When the tree is felled insects, birds and even the surrounding flora and fauna are all affected by this. When you mess with this balance, it leads to poor soil quality resulting in fewer things being able to grow. The long term effects are desertification which causes mass extinction. Not only that, but processing the trees to make any kind of paper actually causes environmental pollution. The by-products of the factories producing it contribute to water and soil pollution.

For some reason our paper has to be white. In order for it to look that way it has to be bleached and treated with chemicals. These chemicals form compounds known as dioxins, are known to cause many health problems such as cancer, hormone imbalances and affect immune system function. That's not all because laboratory analysis also shows that BPA and formaldehyde are present in toilet paper in high concentrations. Apparently these chemicals are needed to improve the strength of the toilet paper when wet, but at what cost to our health? Not to mention we are then flushing it down the toilet and sending it back into the environment.

What Are The Solutions?

When I lived in Singapore the apartment I rented had a toilet with a hosepipe fitted next to it. I was rather puzzled by this and asked my flatmate (a local guy) why it was there and what plants would I possibly be able to water with a 1m long piece of pipe in a 12th storey apartment with no balcony.

"It's not for plants, it's for your ass" he replied.

I nearly fell on the floor. But he further explained that in Islamic culture it is considered much cleaner to wash your butt after nature calls. More hygienic too. I tried it and figured it wasn't that bad plus the clean feeling to be had was rather refreshing in such a hot climate. I guess it's just a simpler and more convenient form of a bidet.

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Moving on... so what if water isn't an abundant resource to you?
I was out walking with my boys the other week and needed to pee. Hey, don't judge me, I've had 4 children and that takes a toll on the bladder. Anyhow whilst I was crouched down in nature with my modesty exposed to the environment I noticed some ferns beside me. I had read somewhere that you can use ferns as a toilet paper substitute. So yep, you guessed it, I gave it a go. They're actually pretty soft and it was a rather pleasant experience. I definitely recommend trying it and, who knows, if you have the right climate you could grow your own loo roll. The only downside is that they're seasonal so you can't find any in the winter. The type of ferns used were the ones pictured below: (Ok so these weren't the exact ones obviously.)

Alternatively you can try using washable cloth.
"YUCK!" I hear you exclaim.
Anyone who has had a child and used cloth diapers will know that what comes out needs to be washed and sanitized. In fact there's probably going to be a lot less poop on an adult cloth wipe than a baby's since we poop on a toilet and don't have to sit in it squishing around us until someone else comes to clean it up.
Anyway, I used to also use damp toweling squares instead of baby wipes. They were kept in two buckets. A fresh one that's soaked in water and a few drops of lavender and chamomile essential oil added. In the second, water with lemon and teatree essential oil. When you've wiped, the used ones go in there to soak until they're washed. The teatree helps ward off the bacterial growth. I've actually just dug out these old ones and am considering suggesting that our family use them. Might need a few more though...

Finally if the thought of all the above really turns your insides out. Well then you probably won't need the toilet paper.

Just kidding.

You can buy sustainable, recycled toilet paper that even comes in plastic free biodegradable packaging. I am sure there are quite a few different brands out there. Here's the one we use:

I hope that you have found some value in this article. If we all commit to reducing our environmental impact even if it's one little thing at a time. Then we are collectively working towards making this planet better for future generations. What do you use for toilet paper? Do you have something really unique that works as an alternative? Let me know in the comments.

ONE LOVE

Sources:
Toilet Paper,Wikipedia

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es300876n

http://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/dioxins-and-their-effects-on-human-health

http://www.the9billion.com/2012/02/20/how-much-environmental-damage-is-toilet-paper-doing-anyway/

All images are my own unless otherwise stated under the photo

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