When we talk about paper usage, we typically talk about paper used for printing purposes. But as we all know intimately, not all paper is used for printing. Over at GreenBiz, a rather extensive feature on recycled bathroom tissue, clearing up some myths about said product. (Funny, I never realized there were any myths surrounding toilet paper, but I guess that shows what I know.)

Earlier this year, in April, Cascades Tissue Group launched Cascades Moka 100 percent recycled unbleached bathroom tissue. Moka is proving that bathroom tissue need not be white to be accepted. Moka is beige in color. In addition to eliminating chemical whitening, Moka is made of a pulp mix composed of 100 percent recycled fiber, 80 percent of which is post-consumer material and 20 percent of which is recovered corrugated boxes.

Special attention has been paid to the reaction from the lodging industry:

hotels and lodges have proven to be among the strongest early adopters/purchasers. “People are looking for a measure of intrigue and newness from their daily norms when they travel”

Intrigue and newness...in the bathroom? One shudders to think. Anyway, I was, however, really quite dismayed to think that bathroom tissue has been implicated in Indonesian deforestation. I mean, really:

Earlier this year, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) published a report titled, “Don’t Flush Tiger Forests: Toilet Paper, U.S. Supermarkets and the Destruction of Indonesia’s Last Tiger Habitats.” WWF found that American companies and consumers are inadvertently contributing to Indonesian rain forest and tiger habitat destruction by buying toilet paper and other tissue products made with fiber from Asia Pulp & Paper (APP). Products made with APP fiber, such as toilet paper,were increasingly landing in hotels across the country under the Paseo and Livi brandnames, WWF said. The WWF report highlights the importance of knowing where the ingredients for tissue come from.

So it’s not just our printing paper, but our household paper:

Those looking for assurance that companies are indeed doing what they say they are doing from an environmental standpoint should not only look for the Processed Chlorine Free mark but also the Green Seal, EcoLogo, Forest Stewardship Council, and Sustainable Forestry Initiative marks.

After all, this is probably one use for paper that—I hope—will never be replaced by electronic alternatives!