Can You Spare a Square?
by Matthew Sparkes, London, UK on 04.27.07
Sheryl Crow recently toured the US in a bio-fuel bus, spreading the green word. "I have spent the better part of this tour trying to come up with easy ways for us all to become a part of the solution to global warming," the star said, "Although my ideas are in the earliest stages of development, they are, in my mind, worth investigating."
So far so good, but what exactly did the singer-turned-environmental-researcher have in mind? "I propose a limitation be put on how many squares of toilet paper can be used in any one sitting." Hardly an exciting idea on it's own, but Sheryl took it to new extremes with the suggestion that we use, "only one square per restroom visit, except, of course, on those pesky occasions where two to three could be required".
She now claims it was a joke of course, but should we believe her? She also suggested that paper napkins should be banned, and replaced with her own line of 'dining sleeves'. These, she explained, are cloth napkins that attach to the sleeve, and are removable for cleaning. Surely that's far too weird to be a real suggestion? It must be some kind of non-funny, non-satirical, bizarre joke, right? But wouldn't you expect more, considering that Larry David also appeared. Would he not have advised her against such an ill-advised prank?
This whole story is bringing up more questions than it is answering, and has us at TreeHugger stumped. If her suggestions are real then all she's doing is alienating people from the green lifestyle, and creating the idea that to be environmentally friendly you can't wipe your ass properly. On the other hand, if the suggestion was a joke, then we didn't really get it.
In all seriousness, the toilet paper industry is a very harmful one. It's criminal that tonnes of paper are bleached every day, simply to provide white toilet paper. Many products are also dyed, embossed or printed as well. If Sheryl's suggestion doesn't take your fancy, you could simply switch to an organic, dye and bleach free product. That alone is a very good move in the right direction. :: BBC
like gallager once said "if they want my approval, make it thicker in the middle; and f*ck one ply, you don't go digging with one ply
For some reason that I cannot explain, the topic of how much toilet paper one uses pops into conversation more often than I imagine it should (IMHO). My answer is always, "As much as I need to get the job done properly... no more, no less".
Thanks,
Harvey
I've had similar thoughts about reducing toilet paper, but not identical. Mine are not totally crazy. Such as "If everybody used one square LESS at each sitting, how much would we save per day?" I try to use only what I need, but good lord, one square?
Extreme suggestions like that, even in jest, do a lot more harm than good :-(
A heartfelt agreement with you there Treehugger... It just makes me sad. Its starting to be cool to be an enviro-geek... but statements like Crows is putting us back in the dark days of "owls over jobs..."
Maybe since Larry David was there, she was making a lame jokey reference to the Seinfeld episode when Elaine needed t.p., and the lady in ths stall next to her didn't have a square to spare?
Who counts squares? I've never even HEARD of such a thing.
And I agree with the above poster about this setting environmentalism way back. I brought up, innocently enough, the suggestion of switching our cleaning agents at work from chemical-types to more earth-friendly types, and I was immediately derided with, "What are you, one of these Sheryl Crow crackpots?"
I know all Sheryl wants to do is have some fun, but using a potty mouth is NOT helping...
Definitely a joke.
I think anyone who takes that joke seriously needs to take a nice, fun vacation in the middle of the woods or mountains! :-)
I only use one sheet. Actually, I split the two ply and make it one ply. So that's only 1/2 a sheet. Just kidding.
Toilet paper is manufactured from a renewable resource -- trees. The trees used are pines, not old growth. These pines come from tree farms that have been planted for the purpose of producing pulpwood.
No question about the bleaching, though.
When we replace paper with cloth, we waste fresh water and electricity to wash the cloth, and add detergent chemicals to the wastewater.
We can't make more water, but we can grow more trees. Stick with (unbleached) paper.
in the Uk you can get recycled toilet paper from Tearfund via Oxfam
might as well just us your hand to wipe your crap. lol
this is definitly a joke, but honestly not funny.
I use cloth. I made myself about 60 flannel wipes (7x4 turned and top stitched). I couldn't be happier! I used to have constant rashes, which I thought were due to candida, but when the treatment didn't cure them, I realized it was the toilet paper giving me symptoms. So, now I use washable "toilet paper", no more trashcans full of paper. I have had the same roll for over 6 months (for visitors only). I simply wash the rags with the other linens that can take the cold/hot water cycle and they come out very clean. They are not even stained! Flannel is super comfy! Now toilet paper feels like sand paper when I am forced to use it when I go to someone else's house. Oh by the way, my poor old septic tank system approves! I have heard of many people who simply cut up an old T-shirt with pinking shears, and other people who simply cut the flannel with pinking shears. I have never felt as clean as I feel with cloth, I truly encourage people to try it for one week, you will never go back. I simply keep the clean stash on top of the toilet, and I hung a mesh bag (like those for delicates in the washer), which keeps the used rags ventilated and free of smell (I wash them about twice a week, and there is no smell). Go ahead! GIve it a try! You will love the clean feeling, and no more tiny little pieces of toilet paper left over in your most intimate areas!
Why not spray instead of wiping? We've just installed a sprayer on the wall (similar to the hand-held sprayer on your kitchen sink). These were everywhere when we lived in Bangkok, well...in more modern facilities. Rustic places had a bucket or klong jar with a ladle!