Toilet paper made of bamboo
What kind of eco-friendly initiatives are you thinking about this year? Today, we are talking to Kayo Matsubara, the CEO of Welcome Back, a company that makes toilet paper, an essential item for our daily lives, from bamboo.
"This will be a subscription service where people can order bamboo toilet paper. I chose bamboo since it is a fast-growing plant. I think that we can create such a good cycle by cutting down as much as possible and planting it right after so it can absorb more of the carbon dioxide as it grows.
Toilet papers are such an everyday essential item but I think people use it subconsciously and not think about what it is made out of so if we can make those items in a sustainable material, we hope to contribute even a little to sustainable living.
Overseas, from toilet paper to adhesive plasters, bamboo is commonly used, but at the moment, it seems that this bamboo roll is the only one that sells bamboo toilet paper in Japan. Matsubara's company uses a production factory that uses hydroelectric power to make this paper.
"As a benefit of a subscription service, we hope that it eliminates carrying such bulky items during shopping as well as since you will always receive 18 rolls, you can pay attention to the amount used.
Also, because I didn’t want to use resources as much as possible, we packed them in cardboard instead of individually wrapping them. The risk may be high since it is a product that dissolves in water, but in the end it is a product that is drained into sewage, so we thought that it would be okay to just pack it in cardboard instead of putting it in plastic. "
You can choose the delivery frequency from one month to four months, so it seems easy to match your lifestyle. For those who use it for a long time, there is a membership program with a discount system. For those who want to try it out first, the company has them selling at a general store that handles specialty items from all over Japan so that you can purchase individual rolls. If you are interested, please take a look at the Bamboo Roll site.
Originally Aired January 2nd, 2022
J-Wave
https://www.j-wave.co.jp/original/makemyday/sustainable/
Radiko