Today’s Solutions: July 29, 2026

Newsflash: using the modern luxury that is toilet paper could be doing more damage to the environment than driving a large, gas-guzzling SUV. Yes, using all that toilet paper adds up, with the average American using around 28 pounds of toilet paper each year. This is destroying forests and impacting climate change in more ways than you can imagine. The thing is, you hardly hear about any alternatives to toilet paper. That’s why we have a few here for you to consider. Your first option is to buy eco-friendly toilet paper made from 100 percent recycled paper that has no added inks, dyes or scents. If you want to exercise option one, look into a brand called Who Gives a Crap, which donates 50 percent of profits to help improve sanitation in developing nations. The second option is to use family cloth. It may sound filthy, but you can use fabric swatches to wipe, which are then placed in a wet-dry bag and laundered so they can be reused. The third option you have is to get a bidet installed in your home. Americans have yet to fall in love with bidets, and that is unfortunate: bidets have great environmental benefits and are great for personal hygiene. Your options for replacing toilet paper aren’t numerous, but by switching to one of these three, you would help save many trees throughout your life.

Solutions News Source Print this article
More of Today's Solutions

Data centers explained: the hidden infrastructure behind your daily digital life

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Every time you stream something, pay a bill, or ask an AI a question, a server somewhere is ...

Read More

Three signs your garden is overheating and what to do about each one

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM It's usually around this time of the summer season when you find out which plants you’ve been taking ...

Read More

Four surprising reasons to add more mushrooms to your diet

Here at The Optimist Daily, we are huge fans of mushrooms. As each year passes, more scientists are turning toward fantastic fungi to treat ...

Read More

Secrets of the sea: hidden underwater forests may help fight climate crisis

The Nature Conservancy's marine biologist Frank Hurd spends his days amongst gigantic kelp curtains, studying underwater forests. One of his usual diving haunts is ...

Read More