The Dirty Truth About Toilet Paper: What’s Really in Your Roll?

When you walk down the toilet paper aisle, you're probably not thinking about chlorine, formaldehyde, or artificial fragrances. You're thinking: Is this soft enough? Will it fall apart? How many plies are we talkin’? But here’s the sh*tty truth: what’s in most toilet paper isn’t just paper — and what’s left behind on your skin might surprise (and disgust) you.

Let’s break it down.

What’s Really in Traditional Toilet Paper?

Most mainstream toilet paper is made with virgin wood pulp — that means trees are cut down just to wipe your butt. That wood is then chemically treated to soften it, bleach it white, and give it that fluffy texture you’ve been conditioned to trust. But here’s the catch: many brands don’t stop at the basics.

They add:

• Formaldehyde, to improve wet strength (yep, the same chemical used to preserve dead bodies)

• Chlorine dioxide, a bleaching agent that can create toxic by-products

• Fragrances and dyes, which do nothing for hygiene and can cause irritation

• Quaternary ammonium compounds (quats), linked to health and environmental concerns

If you have sensitive skin, allergies, or chronic conditions that affect your body’s ability to heal or defend against irritants, these added extras can leave you feeling raw — literally.

White ≠ Clean: Debunking the ‘Pure White’ Obsession

Let’s talk about the elephant in the bathroom: colour. You’ve probably associated white toilet paper with purity, hygiene, and cleanliness. That’s no accident — that perception was carefully crafted by marketing departments in the 60s and 70s. But there’s no health benefit to paper being blinding white. In fact, it often means it's been chemically treated.

Here’s what most people don’t realise: you can have white, soft, high-quality toilet paper without the cocktail of unnecessary chemicals. You can also have recycled toilet paper that doesn’t feel like sandpaper.

So What Should You Look For Instead?

The best toilet paper keeps it simple:

• Made from 100% recycled materials

• Free from fragrance, dyes, and unnecessary additives

• Produced by brands that prioritise transparency and ethics

• Soft enough to actually use — because sustainability shouldn’t feel like a punishment

Enter: Shh!t Happens

We make toilet paper for people who care what they put on — and in — their bodies. Our 100% recycled rolls are:

• Soft as hell (seriously, our DMs are full of "I thought recycled meant rough" messages)

• Free from all the nasties like added fragrance, artificial dyes, or skin irritants

• Made in Australia by a disability-owned business on a mission to disrupt an industry that hasn’t evolved since the three-ply war of the 90s

Final Wipe: Why It Matters

You’re not just buying toilet paper — you’re making a choice about what stays on your skin, what goes down your drain, and what kind of future you want to wipe toward. The truth is dirty, but your bathroom routine doesn’t have to be.

💩 Ready to ditch the BS and upgrade your rolls?

👉 Shop Our Recycled Toilet Paper