Toilet paper should be easy. Canada has vast timber reserves, and we routinely hear about how much virgin boreal forest is getting turned into bog roll. Nobody wants to wipe their bum with old growth forest, but surely I could count on some exploitative Canadian manufacturers. Right?
And yet, my searches–both offline and on–have turned up bupkis. I was optimistic when I spotted Cascades toilet tissue at Choices. Their toilet paper is manufactured from recycled paper in Quebec, and they have a strong commitment to sustainability. Plus, you know, they have an absorption guarantee.
I contacted them to confirm the origin of their recycled paper, and this was their reply:
Unfortunately, it is impossible for us to attest that all of the ingredients used to make our products originate in Canada. In the paper making industry, we deal with big suppliers in North America that have multiple locations. It would be hard for us to know where every single component is coming from.
We wish you the best of luck with you project to consume only products and services made in Canada.
Zut alors! So, I think Cascades toilet paper becomes the first of the compromise household goods. According to this month’s rules, I can use a manufactured product that isn’t necessarily sourced in Canada if I can’t find a product entirely sourced here.
Sidenote: In writing this post, I solicited my tweeps for synonyms for toilet paper. Popular choices included bathroom tissue, TP, ass wipes, dunny roll, bun wad, sh*t tickets and bog roll.
Photo by Mandie.
Maybe you need a bidet (Canadian-made, of course)
Don’t forget shit tickets!
I wonder where Shopper’s BioLife brand of recycled tp is made/sourced…
You could use clothes made in Canada. Wash them. People use re-usable diapers, why not re-usable poo rags?
“Sh*t tickets” is not something I’d heard before. Learn something new everyday.
I like the bidet idea – you should be confident that your water source is canadian.
Further to Theresa’s idea, why not just use re-usable diapers? You can use one of those cleaning services, and skip the toilet paper completely.
If you are just now talking about toilet paper … what are you using while figuring it out? Did you stock up on paper from China beforehand?
Perhaps you could locate an old Hudson’s Bay Company or Eaton’s catalogue? I hear that was the wipe of choice when my Grandparents were growing up.
If paper recycled in Canada counts and you’re definite on using a disposable toilet paper, then I would recommend making your own. You could make it much thicker (so you only need one square at a time time) and nice and soft if you get a little shredded cotton in there. Also, for mouthwash, leave a stick of cinamon in a bottle of vodka for a few weeks and you have delicious cinamon scope! Just make sure you use something like “Alberta Prince”.
Irving makes Majesta and Royale toilet paper which is manufactured in Dieppe, New Brunswick from Canadian products. https://www.irvingtissue.ca/
I’m a quebequer and I did never really try to know if my toilet paper was “homemade” but I’m sure that you could try to research store-brands that come from Canadian-only stores, that could help. Since I work for them, I’d suggest looking up Metro grocerie stores
https://www.metro.ca/index.fr.html
Or even (only in french) Brunet drug stores
https://www.brunet.ca/
They sell there the store brand “Sélection Mérite”. Good luck in your project
Is your hand 100% Canadian? That should work.
“”According to this month’s rules, I can use a manufactured product that isn’t necessarily sourced in Canada if I can’t find a product entirely sourced here.”"
Sorry but that is too easy. You can not make up a rule and break it at will. Almost anything can be found if you look hard enough. A better rule would have been “If I can’t find a product that isn’t sourced in Canada I will do without”… Toilet paper as we know it is at most 100 years old. There must be another way. You should think differently.
This being said I love Cascade
Too bad there’s no more Eaton’s catalogue. That would easily solve your conundrum.
You can try cloth wipes, good enough for a baby then good enough for you. Look up Sweet Cheeks diapers.
As for the shaving cream that is Canadian sourced you might best check out Badger and Blade a forum for wetshave enthusiasts for more info. They do have a compilation of soaps though.
https://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.php/Canadian_Shaving_Soap_Compendium
You can try Cascadia Soaps on Granville Island as they make a shaving soap and there is JM Fraser that makes shaving cream.
But the ingredients might not be sourced in Canada so you are going to have to rethink the shaving cream and grow a beard or something.
Oh I forgot about Bread and Butter skincare. They say on their site they formulate and fill their products in Canada. The ingredients maybe not.
I realize that this may not exactly fall under what you are trying to accomplish here, but if you can’t find Canadian made Toilet paper, maybe you should go paperless. There is a movement (no pun intended) of reusable toilet paper. I don’t know if you will be able to find Canadian made fabric, or if used materials from a thrift store would squeeze into your parameters or not. Not to mention that its probably a lot more work then you’d like but if you would like some more information on the subject you can check out this site, but you’d better do it before December as its a US based site.
https://theorganicsister.com/2009/05/tmi-alert-cloth-toilet-paper/
You may want to investigate more into Kruger. Although they are a German company, the recently purchased the old Scott Paper mill in New Westminster, BC. I’m pretty sure that fibre would be sourced from Canada (even most American paper mills have their pulp come mostly from Canada), as well as produced in Canada.
What Colin said. I remember Scott Paper used to make TP. Not sure if Kruger discontinued that or not.
Btw. I have always tried to buy Canadian but find it more and more difficult every year. I even tried searching the web for a “Canadian Made” resource. I didn’t find one. You should compile a list and throw it into a database and make Canadian made products searchable for the rest of us.
toiletpaper,majesta 4 rolls about $2 aval.at super valu on daviest.its canadianmade good luck!!!!!!!!!!
We call it Bowel Towel.
You can cut down or almost eliminate TP use buy washing your bum with water. Thats what a lot of south asians do. Its very hygienic, you stay clean & don’t get any skin infections. Just grab a small bucket (the has a spout) or a small watering can. Fill it with water & keep it beside the toilet. Try it!
[...] Good was an excellent moderator of the phone lines. Earlier we had discussed my ongoing search for toilet paper that is sourced and manufactured in Canada. It’s a topic which never fails to delight the [...]