Best Eco Friendly Toilet Paper UK (Honest Reviews)
Updated 2026.
Right, let’s talk about toilet paper. Not the most glamorous topic, but here we are. I switched to eco-friendly toilet paper a couple of years ago, and it felt a bit ridiculous at first. Of all the environmental problems in the world, I’m worried about loo roll?
But then I looked at the numbers. The UK gets through billions of rolls every year. Most standard toilet paper comes from virgin trees: trees cut down so we can wipe and flush. When you think about it like that, it’s actually mad.
So I started researching, got overwhelmed, tried several brands (yes, really), and now I know far more about toilet paper than any reasonable person should. Here’s what I found.
What Makes Toilet Paper Eco Friendly?
Standard toilet paper is made from virgin tree pulp: trees specifically grown and cut down for the purpose. It’s usually bleached with chlorine and wrapped in plastic. Eco-friendly alternatives either use bamboo (which grows back in months, not decades) or recycled paper (from waste paper, so no new trees are needed at all). Both skip the chlorine bleaching, and almost all come in plastic-free packaging.
When buying, the certifications to look for are FSC (Forest Stewardship Council, which verifies sustainable sourcing) and B Corp (a more rigorous accreditation covering the whole company’s environmental and social standards). Carbon neutral claims are worth less: offsetting is better than nothing, but reducing emissions in the first place is better than planting trees to compensate.
The Best Eco Friendly Toilet Paper UK Brands
Who Gives A Crap
Bamboo or 100% recycled paper | Around £43 for 48 rolls | Available by subscription
Who Gives A Crap is the most well-known eco toilet paper UK brand, and for good reason. The quality is solid: the bamboo version is soft and doesn’t fall apart, the recycled version is decent for everyday use. 50% of profits go to building toilets in developing countries through WaterAid and similar charities. They also now stock in Tesco and Waitrose, making them properly accessible.
My issue is the packaging. Every single roll individually wrapped in cheerful printed paper. I get the branding logic, but for a brand selling itself on eco credentials, packaging every roll separately feels counterintuitive. It’s a lot of paper for paper. If you can live with that, or you just want something reliable and high quality with clear charitable impact, this is a good choice.
Bazoo
Bamboo | Around £45 for 48 rolls | Available direct
Bazoo is a UK-based bamboo brand with one notable advantage over Who Gives A Crap: you can order it unwrapped, which makes far more sense for an eco product. The quality is very good: soft, strong, close to standard toilet paper in feel. FSC certified. Online reviews are consistently positive, with the softness and unwrapped option called out most often. It’s pricey, but if you want UK-based and proper quality, Bazoo is worth it.
Naked Sprout
Bamboo | £39.99 for 48 rolls | Available direct, free delivery
Naked Sprout is FSC and B Corp certified, which means the whole company has been assessed against environmental and social standards rather than just the product. Free delivery, plastic-free packaging that’s properly minimal rather than decorative, and it supports charitable causes. The quality is decent, not the softest bamboo on the market but absolutely functional. Sometimes goes out of stock, which is the main complaint. Good all-round choice if you want strong credentials without the premium price of some competitors.
Serious Tissues
100% recycled paper | £36.99 for 36 rolls | Available direct
If you want the best recycled toilet paper UK option, Serious Tissues is excellent. It’s made from post-consumer waste paper (no trees at all), is FSC certified, and plants a tree for every box sold. It’s made and shipped within the UK, which is worth noting for carbon footprint: this is one of the few brands where you’re not factoring in a delivery from Asia. The quality is good for recycled paper: it’s not luxury soft, but it doesn’t feel scratchy and holds up fine for everyday use.
Ecoleaf
100% recycled paper | £7.35 for 9 rolls | Available at Holland & Barrett, direct
Ecoleaf is the budget option for eco toilet paper, and it actually works. Made in the UK from recycled paper, no bleach or chlorine, and 50% of profits go to sanitation projects. It’s not soft (recycled paper rarely is), but it’s perfectly functional and significantly cheaper than most eco brands. If you’re on a tight budget but want to make the switch, this is the most accessible starting point.
Greencane
Bamboo | £35.80 for 48 rolls, or £19.90 for 24 | Available direct
One of the more affordable bamboo options, and the packaging is properly minimal: no excessive individual wrapping, no plastic. Quality is soft and doesn’t fall apart. It ships from Southern Asia, which is true of most bamboo brands, but the price and quality combination makes it one of the better value choices if you specifically want bamboo.
Cheeky Panda
Bamboo | £39.99 for 48 rolls | Available direct and in some stockists
100% bamboo, FSC certified, partnered with the World Land Trust for conservation and carbon offsetting. Quality is good: soft, holds up well. Mid-range price for bamboo. The carbon offsetting through tree planting is a nice addition, though as always, reducing transport emissions in the first place would be more impactful. A solid choice with genuine eco credentials.
A Warning About Bumboo
Bumboo gets mentioned in a lot of eco toilet paper UK searches, but I’d be cautious. Which? testing found only 2.7% bamboo content despite the brand claiming 100% bamboo. The company acknowledged supply chain issues when this was reported. Price is competitive, but claiming 100% bamboo and delivering 2.7% is a meaningful problem. I’d rather pay a bit more for a brand that’s transparent about what’s actually in the product.
Bamboo vs Recycled Toilet Paper
This is the question most people have when they start researching eco toilet paper UK options.
Bamboo grows incredibly fast (up to a metre a day) without pesticides or fertilisers, and uses less water than trees. The resulting paper is softer and stronger than recycled. The downside is that most bamboo comes from Asia, so there’s a meaningful transport footprint in getting it to the UK.
Recycled toilet paper uses waste paper, so no new trees are needed at all. UK-made recycled options like Ecoleaf and Serious Tissues have lower transport emissions than bamboo from overseas. The drawback is texture: recycled paper is rarely as soft as bamboo, and unbleached recycled paper (the most eco option of all) has a noticeable texture difference from what most people are used to.
My honest answer: for the lowest overall environmental impact, recycled and UK-made wins. For softness and comfort, bamboo wins. Both are substantially better than standard toilet paper made from virgin trees. I use both depending on what I’ve ordered most recently, and I don’t find the difference between the two as significant as I expected.
The Honest Bit About Cost
Eco toilet paper costs more. You’ll pay roughly 80p to £1 per roll compared to 20-40p for standard. Over a year for a household of two or three, that’s an extra £80-150.
Whether that’s worth it depends entirely on your budget and priorities. Ecoleaf at £7.35 for 9 rolls is the most affordable eco option and does cut the gap. Subscriptions and bulk orders from most brands save around 10-15%. It’s not cheap, but the cost difference is smaller than most people expect once you’ve found a brand and quantity that works for you.
Which Eco Toilet Paper Should You Choose?
The most reliable all-rounder is Who Gives A Crap or Naked Sprout: good quality, clear eco credentials, widely recommended. If you specifically want recycled paper made in the UK, Serious Tissues or Ecoleaf are the best options. For the most affordable bamboo, Greencane or Cheeky Panda are worth a look. If packaging is a priority, Bazoo’s unwrapped option and Naked Sprout’s minimal packaging are the standouts.
I rotate between Naked Sprout and Serious Tissues depending on what I’ve stocked up on. For guests, I keep Who Gives A Crap because the quality is slightly higher and it’s the closest to what people are used to.
FAQs
Is eco friendly toilet paper as good as regular toilet paper? The best bamboo options are comparable to standard toilet paper in texture and strength. Recycled paper can be slightly rougher, and unbleached recycled paper is definitely rougher, but perfectly functional. Most people adjust within a week and stop noticing a difference. The key is trying two or three brands to find one that works for you.
Which is better: bamboo or recycled toilet paper? Both are much better than virgin tree pulp toilet paper. Bamboo is softer and grows fast without pesticides, but usually ships from Asia, adding to the carbon footprint. Recycled paper uses waste materials and UK-made options (like Ecoleaf and Serious Tissues) have lower transport emissions. For lowest environmental impact overall, choose UK-made recycled. For softness, choose bamboo.
Is eco toilet paper safe for septic tanks? Yes. Eco-friendly toilet paper is generally better for septic tanks than conventional brands. Bamboo and recycled paper both break down quickly without the binding agents found in some conventional products. Most brands specifically state they’re septic-safe, and the absence of harsh chemicals makes them a gentler option for the system.
Where can I buy eco friendly toilet paper in the UK? Who Gives A Crap is now available in Tesco and Waitrose. Ecoleaf stocks in Holland & Barrett. Most other brands (Bazoo, Naked Sprout, Serious Tissues, Greencane) are primarily online. Subscriptions are available from most brands with a discount, and many offer free delivery.
Why does eco toilet paper cost more? The materials, more sustainable production methods, smaller production runs, and often charitable contributions all add to the price. Budget options like Ecoleaf narrow the gap significantly. Subscriptions and buying in bulk from most brands reduce the per-roll cost by around 10-15%.
Is bamboo toilet paper actually sustainable? Generally yes. Bamboo grows extremely fast, doesn’t need replanting, and uses less water than trees. Look for FSC certification to verify responsible sourcing. The main caveat is transport emissions from Asia, which is why some people prefer UK-made recycled paper as the most environmentally complete option. Both are dramatically better than standard toilet paper.
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