Each American uses an average of 50 pounds of toilet paper a year.
That's 8 million tons annually as a nation.
Overall, the world uses enough bathroom tissue daily to cover the distance from our planet to the moon and back.
Most of that toilet paper is manufactured from live trees. And worldwide paper consumption is slated to grow almost 50% by the year 2040, which adds some environmental urgency to the "TP" situation.
Enter: Satino Black, the world's first carbon neutral toilet paper. 
Dutch company Van Houtum, the manufacturer, claims that Satino Black is the first toilet paper to be given Cradle to Cradle certification.
Cradle to Cradle requires that the product integrates environmentally safe material, reuses raw materials, utilizes sustainable energy in its manufacturing processes, and makes efficient use of water.
Satino Black is made from 100% recycled content and manufactured by 100% renewable energy.
"Many users do not know that the largest part of toilet paper is still made of trees which are chopped down for that specific reason. That is totally unnecessary. That's why we manufacture Satino Black from 100% recycled paper," Henk van Houtum, director of Van Houtum, said in a press release.
"In addition, we have developed a new production process during the last 2 1/2 years to replace all the harmful chemicals with natural, biologically degradable raw materials and additives."
Van Houtum worked with the EPEA, an environmental research firm in Germany, to investigate the chemical composition if conventional toilet paper. They found that most toilet paper contains a multitude of chemicals that are dangerous to both the environment and humans.
Most paper mills use chlorine-based chemicals to bleach the paper pulp white. One class of bleaching chemicals — dioxins — cannot be broken down by natural bacteria, making it one of the most toxic man-made chemicals.
According to The Toilet Paper Encyclopedia, there are four things you should look for in a chlorine-free, environmentally friendly toilet paper:
1) Unbleached - recycled papers that have NOT been re-bleached
2) Processed Chlorine Free - recycled papers bleached with oxygen, ozone or hydrogen peroxide instead of chlorine chemicals
3) Totally Chlorine Free - non-recycled papers bleached with oxygen, ozone, or hydrogen peroxide instead of chlorine chemicals
4) Elemental Chlorine Free - papers bleached with chlorine dioxide instead of chlorine gas; these chemicals still contain chlorine, so this process still produces dioxins
Van Houtum guarantees that any chemicals used in the production of Satino Black are "converted to natural, biologically degradable auxiliary agents," making it harmless for both humans and the environment.
Although Satino Black sounds something like a set of exotic Italian bed sheets, the jury's out on whether it indeed feels like satin — or sandpaper...
Van Houtum touts Satino Black's softness and high paper quality: "The multi-ply paper quality also projects a look and feel of absolute luxury."
The typical complaint about recycled toilet-paper is that it's less than downy-soft. But considering that American colonialists used corncobs, I guess we have come a long way in our expectations of bathroom comfort.
You can check out the new Satino Black brochure here.
Be Well,
Jimmy
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They are setting a great example for corporate social responsibility!