The Best and Worst Toilet Paper, Paper Towel, and Facial Tissue Brands (2024)

Few people give much thought to how their toilet paper or other tissue products are made. So most of us probably don’t realize that the average American household uses more than 100 pounds of tissue paper annually—or that to make these paper products, companies are purchasing fiber that comes from trees logged in climate-critical forests. Our latestIssue with Tissue report and sustainability scorecard illuminate the serious environmental impacts that some of the most popular U.S. tissue brands are having on forests, as well as the steps consumers can take to make the most sustainable choices. Here’s where to start.

Understand why tissue paper production is harmful to our forests and planet

U.S. consumers need only look north to see the effects of paper production on our environment. The world’s largest intact forest, theCanadian boreal, is being cut down at an alarming rate—more than 1 million acres per year—in part to feed consumer demand for paper products. And much of that demand comes from the United States. In 2022, it accounted for 65 percent of all of Canada’s pulp and paper exports, which are then used by some of the biggest household brands for everything from paper towels to toilet paper.

Learn more: Forests & climate change

The Canadian boreal’s trees, soils, and peatlands store massive amounts of carbon—gases that get released into the atmosphere when trees are cut down. A recentreport by NRDC and our partners found that logging is the third-highest-emitting sector in Canada, behind only oil and gas production and the transportation sector.

In addition to robbing the planet of one of its most important defenses against climate change, widespread industrial logging destroys and degrades wildlife habitat. In the boreal, it also threatens the lands and ways of life of more than 600 Indigenous communities.

Buy the best toilet paper, paper towel, and facial tissue brands

Luckily, there are plenty of competitively priced varieties of tissue paper with minimal impact on forests. We’ve assigned grades to all the major U.S. brands of toilet paper, paper towels, and facial tissues. This includes house brands at leading supermarkets and brands that promote more sustainable practices, many of which were launched in only the past five years. Here’s what the highest scores mean for shoppers:

• A+ grade:These tissue paper products are made entirely of recycled material, use a chlorine-free bleaching process, and have the highest percentage of postconsumer recycled paper, which diverts waste from the landfill and promotes a more circular economy. (The alternative—pre-consumer recycled content—is largely scrap and excess raw material collected during the manufacturing process. While a step in the right direction, it does less to offset waste.) Compared to the standard toilet paper products (those made of forest fiber) that dominate supermarket shelves, those made of recycled content produce less than one-third of carbon-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions. They save on water, too—requiring about half as much to produce. Some of the highest scoring toilet paper brands are Aria, 365 by Whole Foods Market 100% Recycled, Green Forest, Natural Value, and Trader Joe’s.
• A grade: Grades of A go to tissue brands that also contain 100 percent recycled content but a lower percentage of postconsumer recycled paper. Toilet paper brands in this category include Field & Future by H-E-B, Seventh Generation Extra Soft & Strong, Who Gives a Crap 100% Recycled, and Everspring by Target.
• B+ or B grade: Dozens of brands received a B+ or B, most of which are part of the rapidly emerging market of bamboo-based tissue products. While bamboo is less environmentally friendly than recycled material and can be problematic if a bamboo plantation was established by clearing a natural forest, bamboo is a fast-growing plant with a much smaller land use and carbon footprint than Northern Bleached Softwood Kraft (NBSK) fiber, the form of wood pulp commonly used in tissue. Some toilet paper brands with this grade include: Amazon Aware, Caboo, PlantPaper, Reel Paper, and Who Gives a Crap Premium 100% Bamboo.

Skip the worst toilet paper, paper towel, and facial tissue brands

Of course, you also want to avoid the worst culprits. Here’s what a failing tissue paper grade means.

• D and F grades: Most brands that get a D or F on our scorecard rely entirely (or almost entirely) on forest fiber for their products. And, as with all five past iterations of this scorecard, the flagship brands by the “Big Three” U.S. tissue producers—Georgia-Pacific, Kimberly-Clark, and Procter & Gamble—almost exclusively use forest fiber. These failing tissue brands have three times the carbon footprint of those made from recycled paper, and many use harmful bleaching processes. Some of the most egregious tissue paper brands are Angel Soft, Charmin, Quilted Northern Ultra Plush, Kirkland, and Amazon Basics.

You may notice that theFSC certification label appears on some of these brands, a stamp of the Forest Stewardship Council. While the label does indicate the product was sourced from a more responsibly managed forest, there is no reason tissue products should be made from trees in the first place. There are plenty of affordable and sustainable alternatives.

Reduce your household use of toilet paper, paper towels, and facial tissues

Aside from making better brand choices, you can also work to reduce your overall consumption of tissue paper products. Here are a few simple ways.

• In the kitchen: Keep rags beside your sink to use instead of paper towels.
• Around the house:Replace paper napkins with cloth versions and one-and-done facial tissues with handkerchiefs and washcloths, which you can wash and reuse.
• In the bathroom: Consider buying a bidet or bidet toilet seat attachment, which are becoming more popular. These help cut down significantly on the use of toilet paper.

Demand accountability from corporations and lawmakers

And finally, you can help push for broader and more rigorous forest protections. Despite the steady degradation of forests like the boreal in Canada, leading tissue brands stubbornly maintain their unsustainable approach to tissue paper manufacturing and marketing. Bounty, Charmin, and other brands continue to be manufactured using methods that have changed little since the 20th century, still relying almost entirely on forest fiber. Meanwhile, they perpetuate misleading claims that their products support healthy forests. It doesn’t have to be this way: These businesses have vast research and development budgets that they could leverage to create soft, strong, and sustainable tissue products.

The good news is that as companies find themselves facing increasing scrutiny, they’re starting to make changes. Kimberly-Clark, owner of Kleenex, Cottonelle, and Scott,announced in 2024 that it is committing to become more sustainable across its supply chains. The company aims to eliminate natural forest fiber from its entire product line, meaning it would avoid sourcing from some of the most ecologically important parts of the boreal. It also set commitments to avoiding deforestation and reducing the impacts of natural forest degradation—significant steps from one of the largest U.S. tissue manufacturers.

Mobilized by environmental groups like NRDC, consumer advocacy played a big part in Kimberly-Clark’s pledge to do better, and the call for broader changes is growing louder. You can help us move the needle farther. Here’s how.

• Spread the word: Share the latestIssue with Tissuescorecard with friends and family. You can also call out failing brands publicly.
• Use your consumer power: Ask your local store’s manager to stock more sustainable options and use our scorecard as your guide.
• Speak up:Call on tissue companies directly to change their practices. Supportstronger regulations that protect forests and respect the rights of Indigenous Peoples. New laws—like the recentEuropean Union ban on the import of products that promote deforestation and forest degradation—can help transform supply chains and, ultimately, the health of our planet’s forests.

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