Buy toilet paper made from recycled paper

Saguaro National Park, United States
Photograph by Philippe Bourseiller

Every year 25 million trees go into the production of toilet paper, paper towels, napkins, facial tissue and handkerchiefs for EU consumers. Europeans use about 22 billion rolls of toilet paper per year.

If every home used recycled rolls, it would save millions of trees. But don't grab any package emblazoned with '100% recycled'. Always look for the percentage of post-consumer content (these vary, but several brands use up to 80%). The presence of post-consumer waste asserts that a certain amount of raw materials came from recycled paper. In addition, look for FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification, which means any virgin materials used were harvested sustainably and avoid products with fragrances, dyes, inks and chlorine bleach.

- from the book '365 Ways to Save the Earth' by Philippe Bourseiller

Personal note: One could try and substitute the use of paper towels as far ask possible. For instance by using a cloth instead of paper towel for kitchen and surface cleaning. Also, instead of using a disinfectant wipe for sanitizing ones hands, a paper-less option as a spray or lotion could be used.