Does shipping bamboo make us less sustainable?

People often ask about our transport. 

The bamboo we use for our bleach free bamboo toilet paper, kitchen roll, and tissues  comes from China, so do the shipping emissions mean our bamboo products aren't truly sustainable?  

It’s a sensible question. The good news is, no, shipping bamboo doesn't cancel out the emissions savings or the general sustainability of Naked Paper. Here's why.  

Transport emissions in context

Our bamboo grows in two vast, FSC-certified natural forests in China. Mature stalks are harvested by hand and the bamboo is mechanically pulped (cut up) and pressed into tight rectangular bales. 

Here’s a picture of our founder Tom standing in front of some of these compact bamboo bales. 

These bales travel by road to a river port, then by river, and finally by sea to Barcelona. From there, they go by road again to our factory near Girona in northern Spain.

Sea freight, which makes up most of this journey, is one of the most energy-efficient ways to move goods. The European Environment Agency estimates that transporting a tonne of materials by sea produces around 19 times less CO₂e than by lorry, and 148 times less than air freight. 

It's a surprisingly efficient journey, but the biggest difference is what happens next.

The big savings

The main source of emissions in standard toilet paper manufacturing isn’t transport, it’s drying. Tissue pulp is transformed from a porridge-like liquid state into a soft sheets of tissue in 1.4 seconds, and a huge amount of heat – over 600°C – is needed to power this transformation. 

Most factories produce this heat by burning fossil fuels. We don’t. Our factory runs on renewable energy, which saves far more CO2e emissions than the sea journey produces.

We transport our bamboo from China to Spain is made for a very specific purpose; to take advantage of this industry-leading, fossil fuel-free process.  

From Spain Naked Paper travels to the UK by road, electrified rail, and boat. All of the emissions of that journey are counted into our total as well, right down to the final delivery to the doors of our thoughtful, curious customers.  

Here's how the total emissions break down.

So if you're wondering how transport fits into the whole impact of our products, we're on the same page.

Want to try bamboo (or recycled!) tissue products made with the big picture in mind?