Green, my butt!

Despite the green logo and the name "Naturals," this Scott toilet paper is a step backward in greening your home. It's a perfect example of the deception sometimes called "greenwashing." Don't fall for it!

Let's see: 40% recycled fiber. Must be good, right? Not necessarily. Look closer.

Notice the numbers at the bottom? 440 TWO-PLY SHEETS PER ROLL. A roll of ordinary Scott toilet paper has 1000 single-ply sheets, more than twice as many sheets (and incidentally about half the price).

Say that you use four sheets to "Get the Job Done." That's four pieces of ordinary Scott's and actually eight pieces of "Naturals," since each is two-ply. 60% of Naturals is virgin paper, in other words, 4.8 sheets of the eight. So by using the "recycled" product you actually use more virgin paper!

I'll admit I was very close to putting this package of Scott Naturals in my shopping cart, even after I saw the price tag, about double what regular Scotts costs. But rather than buying any kind of Scott tissue I'm going to look for the recommended brands on the pocket guide to tissue produced by Greenpeace.

For more information on the environmental harm caused by producing tissue from virgin wood, visit the Greenpeace Kleenex/Kleercut site.

Related:
Why is it so hard to be green? (April 1, 2009)
A little bit greener (May 7, 2009)
It's green, so what? (March 30,2008)
Big Green Bus; buying green eggs (August 15, 2008)

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