Our story
Our story
Why toilet roll?
Travelling through France on holiday in 2019 we had a light bulb moment. The first two guest houses we stopped at were hundreds of miles apart and both had bright pink toilet rolls. This made us laugh but then we thought “wait a second, a bleached white roll isn’t any more natural than a pink one. Why should toilet rolls be white and what impact does that have?”
Reading up on it we discovered how destructive toilet rolls can be for the environment. How pointless that bleach, scents and dyes were added to something that’s flushed away – literally! We challenged ourselves to create the UK’s most sustainable version.
Naked Sprout was born.
Where we started
We wanted other people to have their “pink roll” moment. To take a fresh look at the toilet rolls they use every day and ask; “what’s in a roll and how is it made?”
Because when we looked into it, we couldn’t believe how archaic the manufacturing process was for these everyday products, and the impact they have on our environment. Almost all tissue products contain harsh chemicals and most are wrapped in plastic. The average person in the UK uses 127 toilet rolls every year, with an estimated 9 million trees felled to meet national demand. It adds up to a shocking price for such a simple thing.
We were determined to modernise the way tissue products are manufactured. Pulp from trees could be replaced by fast-growing bamboo – using less land and water to grow. We could retain the natural colour of this bamboo rather than treating our tissue with harsh chemicals and bleach. And plastic wasn’t necessary at all.
We started our mission to produce the UK's most sustainable tissue products. Launching with Unbleached Bamboo Toilet Roll; free from harsh chemicals and plastic.
Where we are
Saving trees and keeping our process free of pollutants was the first step. The biggest challenge in making sustainable toilet roll lay in the manufacturing process. Extensive amounts of energy are required to power the machines that transform pulp to paper – energy traditionally provided by fossil fuels.
We have chosen to break this tradition and do things differently. Other eco tissue brands produce a product using eco-friendly raw materials but we wanted more. In 2021 we moved our manufacturing to Spain. Powered by onsite renewable energy at the world’s highest rated B Corp tissue factory.
Keeping manufacturing free of fossil fuels means our products have a 50% smaller climate footprint than other eco brands.
We ensure a living wage for everyone in our supply chain. And every Naked Sprout box sold provides a child in Kenya safe water at school.
Due to transparency and sustainability in all areas of our business we have the highest B Corp impact score in our sector. We know our product isn’t perfect but we will continue to do all we can to inspire change for other tissue manufacturers and consumers.
Our impact so far
Since launching in 2020 we have sold over 13 million rolls, saving:
2,519,539 kg of CO2e
Equivalent to driving 6,458,944 miles
16,519 trees
Equivalent to 469 tennis courts
128,189 litres of chemicals
Equivalent to 427 full bathtubs
24,448 kg of plastic saved
Equivalent to 8 elephants
2023 Impact Report
Want to learn more about the impact we have made so far? Check out our 2023 Impact Report
