The first not-for-profit eco toilet roll

A UK toilet roll brand giving away 100% of their profits? Bamboo Bobbi eco toilet paper is not-for-profit, entirely volunteer-run, with no directors’ salaries, customer service expenses, office space, or warehousing costs.

Incredibly, every penny (no pun intended) Bamboo Bobbi earns goes straight to supporting food banks.

Ali Clifford chatted with Bamboo Bobbi’s Lindsay Hewson to find out more about how the brand operates, and why.

How we started the business:

Sheffield- based Bamboo Bobbi was started by Andy Cameron, his son Bobbi, and Andy’s simple desire to make a difference.

Andy started a business in 2012 selling electric hand dryers, and over the years learnt about the environmental impact of paper towels and toilet paper.

The deforestation, the chemicals, and the large amount of Co2 produced during creation and transportation. It’s not something you would really think about, but why are we allowing this amount of damage for something you’re just going to flush down the toilet?

What are you flushing down the loo?

We wanted to make sustainable toilet roll that was still soft enough to appeal to everyone, including the people who are a bit hesitant about eco products.

So, we chose 100% FSC certified bamboo. A fast-growing grass that doesn’t need a lot of water, or any chemicals to grow. It also regrows when the roots are left in the ground so you don’t need to clear more land to keep growing it.

We also chose to make our rolls unbleached. No chemicals, PFAS, bleach, formaldehyde, or plastic. All things you find in the toilet roll at the shops.

All our packaging is recycled and our tubes are made from FSC certified bamboo. We use paper tape and cornstarch glue so that everything can be composted or recycled to further reduce waste.

We also don’t individually wrap our rolls unlike other brands. We offer a 24 box of naked rolls and a 48 box wrapped in packs of 6 for easier storage. We wanted to try reduce waste as much as possible while still making it appealing for those trying to make their first swap to eco products.

Eco toilet roll not-for-profit, who are we?

The character of Bobbi is based on Andy’s youngest son. It might sound a bit cheesy, but it’s more than just a name, it’s a constant reminder of his son, and the importance of doing the right thing for future generations.

Plus, turning your son into a toilet paper brand will make a great story at their wedding!

While Bamboo Bobbi was founded by Andy, it is run by a group of volunteers who wanted to make a difference in our local community. We are supported by The Intelligent Group, a washroom company founded by Andy who generously help out with all business costs. This allows us to donate 100% of our profits to UK foodbanks.

We are also a carbon neutral company, we tried to remove as much carbon as possible from our process, and anything we couldn’t remove we offset. We even offset our volunteers traveling into the office.

We’re an Ethical Consumer Magazine best buy product, we were voted “Best Unbleached Toilet Roll” by Good House Keeping in 2023.

And our eco toilet roll not-for-profit was were featured on ITV’s This Morning: “The best eco-friendly loo rolls”.

Alice Beer says: “I love this company, they are brilliant, they give 1% of their takings to a non-profit environmental group. 100% unbleached bamboo…… we don’t need our toilet paper to be white, what does it matter?” Bamboo Bobbi offset the emissions of people travelling to work in their company, so they offset everything. Absolutely brilliant!”

Bamboo Bobbi’s work with foodbanks:

Bamboo Bobbi started with a mission: to stop the destruction of millions of trees and make the world a better place. But we wanted to do more!

Our team discussed the issue of poverty in the UK. How can a country as rich as ours still have people struggling?

Millions of people in the UK rely on foodbanks for their essentials, from food to hygiene.

That’s why we decided that 100% of our profits should go to UK foodbanks.

Bamboo Bobbi wouldn’t just be kind to the planet, it would be giving back right here at home.

Many people don’t realise the importance of “hygiene essentials” like toilet paper. Let’s be real, when you’re worried about feeding your kids or keeping the heat on, buying toilet paper might not be at the top of your list. But it is an essential everyone needs.

For every penny you spend on a roll of toilet paper that you buy online, we will donate a free, eco-friendly roll to UK foodbanks. This not only helps those in need, but also doubles the environmental benefits.

So far, we have donated 108,000 rolls in just 6 months! And it’s all thanks to our amazing customers.

This is a collaborative post.

To find out more and purchase direct from Eco toilet roll not-for-profit brand Bamboo Bobbi click here.

To follow and support them on instagram, click here @bamboobobbi.

(and the crafter in me ponders what everyone’s doing with those bamboo loo roll tubes.. here’s an idea.)