
Toilet paper startups - prostoalex
https://www.fastcompany.com/90400017/meet-the-artisanal-toilet-paper-startups-taking-on-big-tissue
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temporaryvector
Reminds me of an old youtube video:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRlBtabKRFM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRlBtabKRFM)

Anyway, the article made a point how they're "combating deforestation," but is
that really true? I always thought that clearing land for farming and cattle
was the main cause of deforestation by far, followed by construction and
furniture, and that the paper industry tended to plant tree farms since they
don't really require old-growth hardwoods, which is why I always opposed
recycling paper. Was I wrong in my belief?

Additionally, it feels to me like this is more of a cynical attempt to
capitalize on the eco-hippy market rather than any actual concern for the
environment. All the people I've talked with who are concerned with
environment and waste seem to be moving to bidets to minimize toilet paper
use, and intuitively this makes sense to me, though I admit that I haven't
done any research on the topic.

~~~
benj111
"It feels to me like this is more of a cynical attempt to capitalize on the
eco-hippy market rather than any actual concern for the environment"

Is there a functional difference? The company will die or thrive based on the
size of the 'eco-hippy' market (well lots of things, but lets keep it simple),
motivation isn't really going to change that. I suppose yes from the customer
perspective they are buying warm fuzzy save the polar bear feelings, but then
the cynical company will tell them what they want to hear anyway.

A bidet for me would involve replacing plaster and floorboards, the payback
time would be massive.

~~~
tdewitt
You don't have to replace the full toilet. There are plenty of options that
fit on an existing toilet. You can get simple ones that are just spray all the
way up to seat replacements with deodorizers and warm water (they require an
outlet). It's easier than replacing your floor and not horribly expensive.
Your butt and the environment will thank you.

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hotwire
My wife started buying Who Gives A Crap for our household a few months a go
and we love it. We went the "mid-tier" quality (although we experimented with
the the lower - 1ply tier at first wasn't that bad either). We also get the
huge pack with 10 or 20 boxes of tissues included.

> Most mainstream toilet roll brands source their wood pulp from boreal
> forests in Canada, which are very old and take between 20 to 50 years to
> regenerate.

it's this kind of crap (pardon the pun) that makes us feel good about using
recycled TP.

also, i have to give a shoutout to whoever Who Gives A Crap's copywriters are;
the stuff they put on the undersides of the tissue boxes and TP rolls is
genuinely hilarious. I worked along side great copywriters years ago, and I
can just picture those kind of people sitting around brainstorming funny stuff
to adorn the wrapping with.

edit: it's made from bamboo, not recycled.

~~~
lotsofpulp
Why use much TP at all?

[https://www.squattypotty.com/shop/bathroom-
accessories/dual-...](https://www.squattypotty.com/shop/bathroom-
accessories/dual-stream-bidet/)

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sizzzzlerz
I would like to know how they test for the crumble factor. Who is assigned to
count the number of bits of paper in the butt left after wiping and how much
do they get paid.

~~~
baby
These are important questions that need to be answered.

~~~
schintan
nothing that cant be handled with good ol' AI.

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gibi555
"Would you pay $3 for a “farm to bathroom” toilet roll?" \- Given my salary in
Russia at $ 388, then I would not buy toilet paper for $3

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factsaresacred
Still boggles my mind why the West doesn't use the bum gun.

Environmentally friendly (you can optionally use tissue to dry) and cleans
better.

Wiping yourself seems primitive in comparison.

~~~
covercash
It’s one of the best quality of life upgrades you can make, I recommend bidets
to everyone!

~~~
leppr
The best quality of life upgrade you can make is eat less starch and enjoy
non-sticky poop, fixing the root cause of the problem instead of its symptoms.

~~~
covercash
I wish I could eat keto, unfortunately my body requires starchy food.

And good luck getting the rest of America to voluntarily cut it out!

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cproctor
I miss ShitBegone ([http://www.shitbegone.com/](http://www.shitbegone.com/)),
which we used to buy for our coop house.

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midnitewarrior
Artesenal toilet paper may be this bubble's WebVan...

~~~
sizzzzlerz
Maybe Mr. Hanky will be the spokes-poo in superbowl commercials for the
product.

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prolepunk
Bidet disrupts big toiled paper roll.

~~~
war1025
We have three young kids, and I've gotten a lot of funny looks over the past
couple years when I tell people that if one of them pooped in their diaper, we
washed their nether regions with soap and water.

It absolutely baffles me that the same people who freak out about the
possibility of there being germs on their kid's pacifier will wipe up poop
with a wet wipe and send the kid on their way.

Even as an adult, I don't get how people think of toilet paper as having any
"cleaning" power. It just seems wildly unsanitary if you bother to think about
it, which is why I suppose most people choose not to.

~~~
post_break
I always liked the argument, if your belly button was your butthole, would you
wipe it with TP and call it good?

~~~
kemitche
Sorry but I think that's a silly argument.

Use the right cleanliness tool for the job. For a sidewalk, powerwash it. For
a cast-iron pan, you wipe it out and maybe use oil and salt.

That's not to say that a bidet isn't the right tool - but the justification
needs to show why it is the right tool, not just point at other body parts and
say "the right tool for my hands is soap and water, therefore the right tool
everywhere is soap and water."

~~~
Mathnerd314
Skin is the same everywhere, it seems disingenuous to claim that one skin area
needs different care from another without more evidence. Similarly cast-iron
pans seems to be an internet thing, soap and/or powerwashing would presumably
work just fine.

The only exception I can think of to soap and water for cleaning is delicate
fabrics or sensitive optics, but there the issue is the liquid used rather
than the general process.

~~~
AstralStorm
That's not quite true, anal region is slightly more sensitive. There are
improved cleaning agents that are less irritating, but are still not commonly
used. (Some old bidets have too strong water jet. It's unpleasant.)

It's not as sensitive as mouth though. We don't use soap with grit and
fluoride anymore to clean teeth and mouth nowadays.

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post_break
I'd like to try some of them but none of them pass the wife test. She's
extremely picky on what TP we buy. I would eventually like to install a bidet
however.

~~~
ghostbrainalpha
I can't believe they could highlight 5 toilet paper companies, and not find
one Bidet startup to mention.

Especially with the focus on the environment in that article.

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blue_devil
>> or have received pre-seed rounds of under a million dollars

Our priorities as civilisation are seriously wrong when these enterprises get
_any_ funding. "Under a million" is a vast amount of money - that can be used
to actually make someone's life better or save lives.

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notacoward
I still have a roll of dot-com toilet paper that looks like a stock ticker.
Most of them really did end up worthless, but AMZN is on there too.

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BooneJS
There’s 2 boxes from “who gives a crap” on our foyer right now. When did
instagram become the product discovery platform?

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gumby
I just use 3M 60 grit. Cheaper and less scratchy than the stuff they sell at
Whole Foods.

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mangix
Reminds me of .com bubble

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yumraj
Are any of these VC funded?

Else, I'm sure VC _firms_ , especially _Soft_ bank, are currently doing a due-
diligence on some of these.

Perhaps we'll have a new entrant in the market with brand _Soft_ -n- _firm_.

/s

Edit: I guess the downvoter missed the /s at the end.

