eli5: Why aren’t bamboo products like Toilet Paper/Paper towels considerably cheaper than their tree counterparts?
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Bamboo and wood fibers are very different. Even within wood there are different species of trees used for different purposes for toilet paper and paper towels depending on what you want. The premium products will use a mixture of wood fibers to get their desired product. Additionally, paper machines can only accept a certain range of fiber properties before it causes problems. Given that, you can’t just say I want to replace all wood fibers with bamboo.
Even then bamboo is processed differently than wood. It’s more expensive to get the right amount of fibers and the right fiber lengths than doing so with wood, which is a much more mature technology. Making bamboo more expensive. As far as I’ve seen in 20+ years of product development is that the number of people wiling to pay more for a more “sustainable” product is very small.
I put sustainable in quotes because most toilet paper and towel companies already have several sustainable initiatives for their products. Between responsibly sourced virgin fiber and including recycled, which can only be done to an extent without compromising the product to a point people don’t want to pay, other fibers have been/are being investigated as alternatives. If a cost effective alternatives were available where they’d be able to sell it they would. Not out of the goodness of their heart but because people want it, but at a price comparable to what they’re paying now.
Additionally, many companies will use language describing their product in a way that makes it look more sustainable than it is. As an example a lot of products that say they use bamboo are actually rayon made from bamboo. Rayon’s not terrible in its own right but it’s a far cry from a fiber directly from the plant. Many companies don’t know the difference because they’re not making it. They’re buying it from others that are not 100% honest.
Alternative fibers are being looked at all the time. Whether it’s trying to satisfy a customer need or to reduce cost, ideally both, they are being looked at. Fiber cost is a large portion of the cost of your toilet paper and paper towels. If it was cheaper and didn’t turn people off to the product they would be used. Not because paper companies are benevolent, that’s silly. It’s because it’s good for their business because you’re demanding it.
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