The Big Bamboo Toilet Paper Roundup Review 2020 | Reel vs Plant Paper vs No 2 vs Who Gives a Crap vs Silk 'n Soft vs Cloud Paper (Updated October 2020)

August 1, 2020 Harper Lee

The Top Line: There are a lot of options when it comes to bamboo toilet paper. Our recommendation as follows after trying 12 (twelve!) of them (Reel, Who Gives a Crap, Go No. 2, PlantPaper, Better Way, Silk ‘n Soft, Cheeky Panda, Cloudpaper, Brandless, Package Free, Grove Collaborative Seedling, Bippy):

If you are optimizing for softness: we recommend Silk ‘n Soft. Its definitely the softest bamboo toilet paper option by far — though still not quite as soft as Quilted Northern or Charmin. Additionally, its the 2nd most expensive option and smallest roll.
If you are optimizing for most green / clean: we recommend PlantPaper or Package Free. We love that there is no unnecessary bleaching.
If you are optimizing for most value / least expensive: Brandless is the least expensive by a long shot, despite their roll being on the smaller side. Otherwise we would also recommend Who Gives a Crap as is it one of the least expensive with one of the biggest rolls — almost as big as a double-roll of Quilted Northern (see picture below).

The Breakdown:

What’s Your Impact? The big toilet paper brands, such as Charmin, Quilted Northern, and Angel Soft primarily use freshly cut trees. Some of these are old trees from the boreal forests of Canada. The best, softest toilet paper comes from softwood trees like pine and spruce, which Canada has plenty of. Additionally, it takes a a lot of water and energy to turn trees into toilet paper, along with a bleach and formaldehyde to make our toilet paper stronger, softer and whiter.
Why Bamboo? Bamboo toilet paper is considered to be even better than recycled toilet paper — as bamboo grows extremely quickly, does not need much water or pesticides. Moreover, it can be chopped down multiple times, and grow right back.

Context: We have been using Quilted Northern for years and looking for a more sustainable toilet paper option.

Softness: Silk ‘n soft is the clear winner here! Its the softest of all the options by far. Go No. 2 would be a distant second when it comes to softness. The rest I would describe as really not very soft.
Size of roll: Who Gives a Crap and Reel gives us the two biggest rolls here. Go No. 2 and Silk ‘n Soft has the smallest rolls.
Other factors:
- We like that PlantPaper’s and Package Free’s toilet paper are not bleached!
- Unfortunately, Silk ‘n soft comes in plastic packaging.
Cost: From a price per roll standpoint, Brandless and Cheeky Panda are the least expensive, and even significantly less expensive than a non-Bamboo brand such as Quilted Northern. Silk ‘n Soft and Better Way are unfortunately the most expensive options.