Why bamboo, and why now

The case for bamboo isn't really about trees. It's about how often we replace the thing.

A spruce takes thirty years before a forester is willing to cut it. The bamboo in our paper is a grass that matures in one to two years and regrows fast. It's harvested without uprooting; the rhizome stays in the ground and sends up new culms the following spring, and it is FSC® certified through the supply chain.

The honest comparison

Recycled paper doesn't replace tree pulp. It extends it. Most of the recycled fibre in UK loo roll has already been recycled two or three times by the time it reaches the household; the fibres get shorter each round and the paper gets weaker. That's why a recycled three-ply often feels closer to a tree-pulp two-ply.

Bamboo pulp is fresh. The fibres are long, the resulting sheet is strong enough to be made thinner without losing absorbency, and the whole supply chain dodges the deinking that recycled paper still needs.

Why we don't talk about saving trees

We don't, on the box, claim to save trees. Most of the trees the supermarket roll uses are themselves grown for paper, on land that wouldn't be a forest either way. The honest argument is that bamboo grows faster, processes simpler, and ships from a single FSC® certified source. That's the case.

If you wanted a longer version, the certifications and lab reports are on the accreditations page. They're drier than this post.