Why on earth would you fragrance toilet paper?
The humble toilet roll.
It’s soft, it’s absorbent, and it’s (hopefully!) always there when you need it. Toilet paper is an everyday essential, a trusty bathroom companion, and - wait, is that the invigorating scent of eucalyptus?
If you thought toilet paper was a fairly basic item that didn’t need a lot of fancy bells and whistles, think again. We’ve got manufacturers out there wrapping individual rolls, dying them, and even, yes, fragrancing them. Visit any large supermarket in the UK and you’ll see them on the shelves; perfumed toilet rolls in all of their aromatic glory.
If this seems like madness to you, you’re not alone. We try to be as polite as we can about wasteful manufacturing practices at Naked Sprout, but adding perfume to toilet tissue is really taking the biscuit. And with the scented menaces showing up in stores up and down the country, we thought we’d take a minute to break down what they are, why they’re here, and why some brands think they’re a good idea.
Why are fragranced toilet rolls being made?
Before we get into the material facts of fragrant interlopers, let’s roll it back to their origins. Scented toilet paper is a relative newcomer to the toilet paper landscape. So why are they here, and why now?
At first glance (first sniff?) the whole concept is baffling. Toilet paper is made to have a very short life, being applied almost directly from the roll to the body, and the process is hardly one where you want to be stopping to smell the roses, so to speak.
But the marketing logic behind this idea is pretty straightforward. It boils down to the age-old strategy of trying to make particular products seem a bit more luxurious or special than the boring everyday standard.
This kind of marketing is especially helpful right now. Demand for raw materials and uncertain energy supplies mean that many household goods, including toilet rolls, are getting more expensive. Manufacturers who are concerned about annoying their customers with raised prices can add synthetic fragrances to toilet paper to give it a little something extra—an added "benefit" that makes added cost seem justified, and sets it apart from the rest of the shelf.
The idea is that a hint of lavender, chamomile, or aloe will make your bathroom experience feel just a touch more special, more spa-like, if you will. They’re selling us on the idea that a floral scent will somehow make this most mundane of tasks feel like an indulgence.
The fragrance isn’t really there for any practical reason - it’s purely for vibes. And that’s where we get into the territory of waste.
A waste of resources
Adding fragrance to toilet paper doesn’t make the paper any softer, stronger, or more effective at doing its job. Like bleach and colourful wrapping, all it does is add an unnecessary step to the manufacturing process, which in turn uses up more resources.
To produce fragranced toilet paper, manufacturers have to source and incorporate synthetic or natural fragrances which have been manufactured, packaged, and transported to their factory. They must also package the rolls in plastic to lock in the scent. All of this requires energy, raw materials, and packaging - resources that could be saved if we just… didn’t bother.
It’s a classic case of form over function, and it’s not the only reason we’d give the sandalwood a skip.
Chemical additives
Beyond being a waste of resources, fragranced toilet paper introduces more chemicals to a particularly delicate area, a concern if you have heightened skin sensitivity or you’re prone to allergies.
The fragrance compounds used in everyday goods are often synthetic, meaning they’re made from a cocktail of chemicals that can cause skin irritation, allergic reactions, and even more serious health issues in some people. Even natural fragrances or essential oils aren’t always safe, as they can still cause reactions in sensitive individuals.
We regularly hear from customers with skin sensitivity who want to check our products are free from harsh chemicals that can trigger their conditions. Some of us need to exercise more caution than others, but overall why take the risk?
The case for going naked
If you agree with us that fragranced toilet paper is just about the most ridiculous invention ever, perhaps we can persuade you to try a roll that’s about as far from fragranced as you can get.
At Naked Sprout our soft, unbleached, recycled and bamboo tissue products are the plain Janes of the toilet roll world. And that’s exactly how we like it. They are brown, because that’s the colour of their raw materials, they are unwrapped, because that’s how they come off our machines, and they smell like tissue, because they’re made of tissue.
We’re even cutting back on waste you can’t see (or smell!) by making our rolls with renewable energy that’s generated onsite at our factory, and keeping our water so clean that it can be returned to the river without any pollution.
And let’s not overlook the most important point: our unbleached, unwrapped, unscented toilet rolls still do exactly what they are supposed to do. They’re soft, they’re strong, and they’re gentle on your skin. Is anything else really necessary?
Okay rant over
Next time you’re in the supermarket keep an eye out for the scented rolls. We hope they’ll be going the way of the dodo before too long, but for now at least you have some more context about why some manufacturers are selling fragranced toilet paper, and why we think it’s so wasteful.
In a world that’s constantly trying to sell us on the idea that more is better, sometimes it pays to keep things simple. When it comes to toilet paper, that means skipping the fragrance, the bleach, and the harsh chemicals, and opting for something more sustainable.
Want to try tissue products that smell like tissue products?
