Toilet paper. You use it. I use it. Sometimes, even my children use it. The point is, toilet paper is everywhere.

Almost everyone needs it, and so much of it still comes from actual forests, and yet 2 billion people don't have access to even basic sanitation, much less readily available and recycled toilet paper. That's about 40% of the global population.

289,000 children under five die every year from diarrheal diseases caused by poor water and sanitation. That's almost 800 children per day, or one child every two minutes. That's also completely fucking unacceptable.

So what can I do about toilet paper and sanitation, and can I do them at the same time?

My guest today is Bernie Wiley. Bernie's the Sustainability Director at Who Gives a Crap and, oh boy, do I love this company.

Who Gives A Crap makes toilet paper and paper towels and poop bags and more out of recycled paper and bamboo. And they give 50% of their profits to help build toilets and improve sanitation in the developing world.

And because of Bernie's relentless focus, they consider every step of the supply chain along the way from water use to power use, all the way to last-mile delivery.

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INI Book Club:

The Ranger's Apprentice Collection by John Flanagan
Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth
Find all of our guest recommendations at the INI Book Club: https://bookshop.org/lists/important-not-important-book-club

Links:

Buy sustainable toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, and garbage bags from Who Gives A Crap for your home, your office, your school, everywhere! https://au.whogivesacrap.org/

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Produced by Willow Beck
Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com

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Mentioned in this episode:

What Can I Do?

Become An Important Member

Taking Care of Business (Sustainably)