By Lindsay Hewson
The Story behind Bamboo Bobbi
The startling realisation that one day, I may have to turn around to my kids and say, "Sorry, I knew about climate change, but chose to do nothing." is my driving force.
Bobbi is based on my youngest son.
He’s a cheeky little fellow and the fact I turned him into a toilet paper brand, will make a good story at his wedding! The cartoon monkey is created by the very talented Anjan Sakar.
Future Generations.
It sounds ever so cheesy but I wanted something that represented the natural world and the future of the human race that was meaningful to me. Bamboo Bobbi is a constant reminder of my son and the importance of doing the right thing for future generations.
As my awareness of the climate crisis grew, so did my desire to take action personally and professionally.
How I started.
I started a business in 2012 selling electric hand dryers and over the years educated myself about the environmental impact of the paper towel as an alternative. I was taken back to find out how much devastation the giant paper towel manufacturers cause and just how unscrupulous they are in order to create increasing demand for their products. It is truly one of the most wasteful products imaginable and very indicative of our throw-away mentality.
Why bamboo not trees
Cultivate a tree using loads of chemicals and water, cut it down, transport it, apply more chemicals and energy, transport it again, process it some more, wrap it in plastic, transport again and again then throw it away. The paper industry ‘green’ washes at every turn!
With toilet rolls, it’s nearly impossible to shift people in the western world to bidets or water as a means of cleaning their behind, so I started investigating other materials toilet rolls could be made out of. I came across a brand called Cheeky Panda who seemed to be making headway with their Bamboo toilet paper, but I wanted to know if it was truly better so I commissioned a cradle to grave report of a FSC bamboo toilet paper producer I had identified. I found the environmental benefits were significant. I was impressed with what Cheeky Panda were trying to do and how much commercial success they were having, but I found them to be eco-lite, still bleaching their paper, using compostable plastic packaging (that there is very little means to dispose of in the UK), and having a standard size core. They also seemed to be talking a lot about stock market flotation.
I wanted to offer the most natural, sustainable product possible.
So, we have a non-bleached, bamboo toilet paper with a really small bamboo core (to reduce transport emissions) wrapped in recycled outer paper using only water-based inks. The bamboo is sourced from an FSC certified plantation and converted in a hydro-powered production facility. We have made it as low-impact as possible which means it’s not supermarket friendly because it doesn’t fit conventional norms but it is super-planet friendly.
We are certified as Carbon Neutral by Climate Partner, and we are part of the 1% for the Planet Movement, giving 1% of our sales to environmental and social causes. We are proud to be involved in the "Keep Britain Tidy" program supporting and creating litter picking initiatives throughout the UK.
