Is Your Toilet Paper Vegan?
By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS
The Vegetarian Resource Group (VRG) investigated toilet paper brands in November & December 2018 at the request of an online reader. Here is what we learned.
Charmin® by Proctor & Gamble®
The following FAQ appears on Charmin’s website:
Q: Does Charmin contain animal derived ingredients?
A: Charmin may contain animal derived ingredients. Whenever possible, P&G uses plant-derived or synthetically-derived ingredients to substitute for animal derived materials (ADMs). In those cases where ADMs are necessary for product performance, P&G requires that all our suppliers provide ADMs that are safe and compliant with all regulations and industry guidelines.
Of all companies we asked, only P&G told us explicitly that there are “animal-derived materials” (ADMs) in all of their toilet tissue.
A Consumer Care Rep told The VRG:
“Trace amounts of ADMs are in all Charmin bathroom tissue. There is no bathroom tissue without it…What the ADMs are is proprietary.”
The VRG then pursued a different line of inquiry. We asked Charmin if the company could reveal what the ADMs are NOT. We specifically asked if gelatin could be ruled out. We asked the question in this way to see if we could learn anything at all about the identity of their animal-derived materials.
For further clarification, we also asked two more questions:
- Is Charmin toilet tissue kosher?
- Which animal(s) is the source of the animal-derived materials?
Their Consumer Care Rep told us:
“We can’t confirm whether our bath tissue is kosher or not. Beef or pork is the source of the ADMs.”
We asked again whether gelatin could be the animal-derived material. The rep stated that she had received no direct response about this nor any more information from the Charmin department which fields consumer questions that the reps can’t answer.
VRG speculation: Given the “beef or pork” answer from Charmin, an answer that we’ve received many times from other companies selling various products, an educated guess would be that Charmin’s ADM is most likely gelatin, stearic acid or a stearic acid derivative. These are the animal-derived ingredients which make many other products non-vegan.
Today, gelatin, stearic acid and stearic acid derivatives are the most common ingredients derived from beef and pork. They are used in many food or personal care products. All three serve as “glue” in holding together other ingredients in all sorts of edible products like confections, desserts and pharmaceutical pills. In the case of toilet paper, the “glue” is needed to keep the paper fibers together.
Cottonelle® & Scott® Toilet Paper by Kimberly-Clarke®
There is nothing that we could locate on the Kimberly-Clarke website about animal-derived ingredients in Cottonelle toilet tissue.
Here’s the email we received:
“We would like to inform you that our products are composed of 100% virgin fibers along with processing aids. The processing aids are not directly manufactured from animal ingredients and none are intentionally added.
Some manufacturers of the raw materials use processing aids, fillers, or additives that may be synthesized from animal derived components.
Since these components may be present in trace amounts, and furthermore, are subjected to such intense processing heat, any possible animal derived component would be of no biological significance.
To learn more about the ingredients we put in our products, please visit the KCC website. A link is provided for you below:
https://www.kimberly-clark.com/en-us/brands/ingredients”
After reading this email, The VRG called KCC again for clarification. We were confused by the suggestion that the paper fibers are the sole “raw material” although a later sentence suggests there are “raw materials” (that is, more than one) in the final product.
Furthermore, it appeared that the raw materials had possibly been processed with ADMs.
Unfortunately, upon followup, we received the exact same email with no additional information.
Until we receive a definitive reply from KCC, The VRG cannot be absolutely sure that no ADMs were ever used at some point in the manufacture of the raw materials used to make their toilet tissue.
Quilted Northern® and Angel Soft® by Georgia-Pacific®
We learned from the Quilted Northern website that the three plies in their toilet paper are held together by pressure using “…a proprietary mechanical bonding process…” Furthermore, the FAQ states that the toilet tissue is “primarily made of virgin wood pulp.”
The Angel Soft website did not give ingredient or processing information. When we called both companies, we spoke with the same person. He assured us: “There are no animal ingredients at all in our toilet tissue. There are no animal products in the glue.”
Seventh Generation®
Seventh Generation’s toilet tissue is unlike all the others in that it is 100% recycled.
We chatted online. Here is our Q&A:
The VRG: Does your toilet paper contain animal-derived materials like gelatin?
Seventh Generation: We do not use any animal-derived ingredients in any of our products!
The VRG: Including the glues?
Seventh Generation: Including the adhesives
The VRG: Just the paper products or all of your products?
Seventh Generation: All of our products!
The VRG: So you’re a vegan company?
Seventh Generation: Yes. All of our products are considered vegan.
Grove Collaborative® Tree-Free Bath Tissue
Grove offers an alternative to virgin or recycled wood pulp with its bamboo-sugar cane product.
We corresponded with Grove. Here is our Q&A:
The VRG: Are there any animal-derived materials in your toilet paper? Maybe to hold fibers together? Or maybe in the adhesive? Like gelatin?
Grove: There are no animal-derived materials that we are aware of. In reviewing the ingredients of the adhesive used… there was nothing like gelatin listed.
The VRG: For those concerned about the environmental degradation due to sugar plantations, from where do you source your sugar cane fibers?
Grove: The sugarcane we use for our product is actually a byproduct from sugar manufacturing in China that we upcycle to make paper products.
The VRG: How much sugar cane material is in the product versus bamboo? A ballpark percentage is fine.
Grove: Currently it’s about 50/50 bamboo/sugarcane.
The VRG: Are you thinking of making an all-bamboo product? Or with something other than sugar cane materials? Like what?
Grove: Yes, we are exploring the option of using 100% bamboo for a couple products. Given the need for a long fiber and a short fiber, not all product can successfully be made using 100% bamboo.
The VRG: Is your product certified pesticide-free? Like USDA Organic certified?
Grove: It is not officially certified pesticide-free, but bamboo naturally has anti-fungal and antibacterial properties deeming pesticides unnecessary.
Related VRG Articles
Here are some VRG articles on gelatin, stearic acid or stearic acid derivatives in other products:
• Mint Table
The contents of this posting, our website, and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.
Ingredient information is not meant to discourage people from being vegetarian, to say someone is or is not vegetarian, or to give company staff and businesses a hard time. That would defeat the goal of vegetarians and vegans trying to create a kinder world. We live in an imperfect world, do the best we can, and strive to do better. We each make different decisions about what is appropriate for ourselves, where to draw lines, and what is practical for our situation. However, ingredient research can be used as an aid in meeting your needs or the needs of your clients and customers. To label items vegetarian and vegan, it’s best for full disclosure and to make sure all the ingredients are vegetarian and vegan.
Thank you for reaching out to these companies. Some of the answers you received were better than others, which is also our experience when reaching out to product manufacturers about animal-derived ingredients in their processing. One thing to remember. Organic growing almost always involves the use of manure, fish blood, and animal derived products. Based on that fact, most products touting the use of organically grown plant material – vs. VEGANICALLY grown – are inherently not Vegan. If we are going to hold manufacturers accountable to what they put in their products, we also have to hold ourselves accountable, as compassionate and committed Vegans, to the truth.