What toilet paper does not contain formaldehyde?

Q: Does Charmin use formaldehyde?

The Issue With Toilet Tissue The destruction doesnt stop there: companies like Cottonelle, Quilted Northern, Angel Soft, and Charmin (sigh) use a tremendous amount of energy, water, bleach, and formaldehyde to turn this wood fiber into ultra-plush toilet paper.

Few things come into contact with our nether regions on such a regular basis as toilet paper. And like most bathroom supplies, there are dozens of varieties with designations that often read as gobbledygook. Here we decode the most common labels, what they mean, and what the implications are for your health and the environment.

Table of Contents Show

PFAS in personal care products
Better options
Which toilet paper has no formaldehyde?
Does all toilet paper have formaldehyde?
What is the safest toilet paper to use?
Does Charmin use formaldehyde?

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Label: Ultra Strong
Hidden Ingredient: Formaldehyde
A 2010 study investigating the possibility that toilet paper is to blame for chronic irritation of the vulva discovered that formaldehyde is sometimes used to improve the wet strength of toilet paper, tissues, and paper towels. In addition to being a skin irritant, formaldehyde is a known cancer-causer.

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Label: With Lotion
Hidden Ingredient: Petroleum-based mineral oil
We couldn't find much data about the safety of toilet paper infused with lotions or fragrances, but our instincts say to be wary. Some online reviewers of toilet paper infused with aloe and vitamin E (thanks to petroleum-based mineral oil and paraffin) complained that the paper burned when they wiped.

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Label: Recycled or Post-Consumer Recycled
Hidden Ingredient: BPA
Sure, some recycled rolls may be a little rougher on your behind, but that's something we can live with when we know virgin forests haven't been slaughtered just to be flushed down the toilet. In case you're wondering, "recycled" on a package generally means leftover scraps from the paper and printing industries, while "post-consumer recycled" indicates the stuff you put out on your curb once a week. Basically, recycled toilet paper is pretty much the best…except for one small thing—BPA.

Yep, research published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology found traces of that notorious endocrine disrupter in toilet paper, which is often made up of, among other things, receipts printed on thermal paper, which is coated in dye and a developer like BPA. During printing, heat triggers a reaction between the dye and the developer, causing the black print to appear. When we send receipts (and lottery tickets, luggage tags, and shipping labels) off to be recycled, they get mashed up with everything else, and BPA eventually ends up in our eco-friendly wipes.

The good news is that we absorb far less BPA from handling paper products than we do from plastic and aluminum food containers, and since the concentrations of BPA in toilet paper are so small (micrograms per gram), the exposure risk is tiny. You'll absorb far more BPA (micrograms per gram) from fingering your credit card receipts since the BPA is coated on top, rather than mixed in—though paper products still account for only 2% of our daily BPA exposure.

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Label: PCF or ECF
Hidden Ingredient: Bleach derivatives
These are acronyms that tell you what kind of bleaching process was used on your roll. PCF (processed chlorine-free) shows up on recycled toilet paper packages to indicate no bleach was used in the toilet paper manufacturing, but it may have been used on the paper fibers previously. ECF (elemental chlorine-free) means chlorine dioxide was used in lieu of straight-up elemental chlorine, which the EPA phased out in 2001, due to the high levels of cancer-causing dioxins it was pumping into the environment. ECF processing still releases dioxins, but at hugely reduced levels. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, PCF is preferred, since it signifies recycled content.

The article The Hidden Dangers Lurking In Your Toilet Paper originally ran on RodalesOrganicLife.com.

Four popular brands of toilet paper have detectable levels of fluorine, an indicator of toxic PFAS, according to a new report from Mamavation.

Partnering with EHN.org, the environmental wellness blog and community tested 17 brands of toilet paper at an Environmental Protection Agency-certified lab and found levels of fluorine ranging from 10 parts per million (ppm) to 35 ppm in four of the brands: Charmin Ultra Soft Toilet Paper, Seventh Generation 100% Recycled Bath Tissue, Tushy Bamboo Toilet Paper and Who Gives a Crap Bamboo Toilet Paper. Fluorine is a strong indicator of the “forever chemicals”— which have been linked to everything from cancer to birth defects to lower vaccine effectiveness.

The levels found are low, which is an indication that the ‘forever chemicals’ are not added to the toilet paper on purpose, rather, inadvertently through manufacturing or packaging.

EHN.org partially funded the testing and Pete Myers, chief scientist of Environmental Health Sciences, which publishes Environmental Health News, reviewed the findings. The report comes on the heels of an EHN.org investigation on PFAS in everything from sports clothes to makeup.

While the health impacts of PFAS exposure via skin contact are still somewhat unclear, Linda S. Birnbaum, Scientist Emeritus and Former Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and National Toxicology Program told Mamavation: “PFAS cause effects in males and females of animals and people in nearly every organ and at every life stage. Because toilet paper is created to rub up against such vascular parts of the body, it’s logical to be concerned with this exposure.”

PFAS in personal care products

The new investigation is the latest from Mamavation, which previously found fluorine in everyday products such as yoga pants and leggings and clean beauty brands' makeup.

The report points out that PFAS are not the only concern in toilet paper — bleaching or using dyes made from petroleum (used to change the paper’s color) can irritate body parts, especially women’s vulvas. Previous research has also found formaldehyde, polyethylene glycol, and undisclosed fragrances in some toilet paper. In addition, toilet paper made from recycled paper can contain harmful chemicals like BPA.

Better options

The Mamavation report includes a list of toilet papers that not only were fluorine-free, but made from mostly sustainable materials, including ECOS Treeless Bamboo & Sugarcane Bathroom Tissue, Caboo Tree-Free Bamboo Bath Tissue, Nature Z Way Bamboo Bath Tissue, and others.

The testing is part of an ongoing effort by Mamavation and EHN.org to identify PFAS in common consumer products. See the full results at Mamavation.

Which toilet paper has no formaldehyde?

A few brands making 100 percent unbleached toilet paper include Tushy and PlantPaper, both of which are made from bamboo and are packaged without any plastic.

Does all toilet paper have formaldehyde?

Toilet paper Unfortunately, the whiter and fluffier your toilet paper, the more chlorine bleach and formaldehyde it contains! Bleach can cause local irritation, while formaldehyde is also a skin irritant and, in high enough doses, a carcinogen.

What is the safest toilet paper to use?

Cottonelle UltraComfortcare is clog-free, septic-safe, and sewer-safe. Cottonelle uses renewable plant-based fibers, which makes this toilet paper biodegradable and great for your septic system. They do not contain any harsh ingredients or chemicals, so should not disrupt the delicate balance in your septic system.

Does Charmin use formaldehyde?

The Issue With Toilet Tissue The destruction doesn't stop there: companies like Cottonelle, Quilted Northern, Angel Soft, and Charmin (sigh) use a tremendous amount of energy, water, bleach, and formaldehyde to turn this wood fiber into ultra-plush toilet paper.